A young boy who was left to die in a bathtub with a knife sticking out of his skull testified Wednesday that his uncle tried to murder him, his parents and their two adult friends, and his two siblings. The killing spree took place in Memphis back in March 2008, when the boy was only 9 years old. But the memories are still vivid, as if they had occurred only yesterday.
Now age 11, Cecil Dotson, Jr., who was stabbed in the neck and head, told the cross-examining prosecutor that his "Uncle Junior," Jessie Dotson, was the man who stabbed him. When the boy was asked to show the courtroom where the culprit was, the youth pointed directly to Dotson and said "Right there!"
Dotson, who was charged with six first-degree murder charges and three counts of attempted first-degree murder, got into a heated argument with his brother, Cecil Sr., 30 (pictured above, top left). The enraged then 33-year-old shot his sibling and decided to wipe out any other witnesses -- Marissa Rene Williams, 27 (pictured above, bottom left); Hollis Seals, 33 (pictured above, top right); and Shindri Roberson, 22 (pictured above, bottom right). Dotson also stabbed and killed two of his nephews, Cemario Dotson, 4, and Cecil Dotson II, 2, both sons of Cecil Sr.
Cecil Jr., then 9; Cedric Dotson, 6; and Ceniyah Dotson, 2 months old, survived being attacked with a knife.
At the time of the massacre, Dotson had been released from prison seven months prior. Ironically, Dotson confessed to his role in the bloodbath to the authorities and to his mother a few days after the bodies had been discovered.
Dotson's attorneys argue that the boy might have conjured up the details of the killing spree and was confused because of the trauma he had suffered. Cecil Jr. stated that he had been watching TV when suddenly, he heard gunshots. When he ran to see what had taken place, he saw his Uncle Junior pointing a gun at his dad. The boy told police that he had seen smoke coming from the gun. When Cecil Jr. tried to call for help, he said his uncle stabbed him through the head. The child sustained injuries on the front and side of his head.
Nicole Dotson also testified that she was afraid of her brother Jessie. She stated that Jessie held a grudge against the family because when he was incarcerated over a 14-year period for second-degree murder, he felt the family did not come to see him enough.
Ericka Smith was also called to the stand to testify as she was an ex-girlfriend of Cecil Sr. and the mother of Cecil Dodson II, age 2, who was also killed in the massacre. She was the last to talk to Cecil alive and the first to call police to report that something was wrong.
"They went in the house and they came out and just ask me who did this. They brought a baby out with her neck slit and asked me was that my baby. That's what they did," said Smith. That was not her child, but eventually she found out her toddler was one of those killed.
As the much-publicized trial continues, Dotson, who pled not guilty to the charges, if convicted, could face the death penalty.