The woman accused of killing her own son late last week has confessed, according to an affidavit.
Shannon Dodson, 42 told a Colorado Springs police detective that she killed her son. She is now charged with First Degree Murder.
The boy’s name was Jude Murray-Gomez. He had a unique birthday, born on August 8, 2008 (8/8/08.) His family described as being a ‘lively young boy’ who liked Iron Man.
“He had a lot of energy and was constantly trying to learn, full of life,” Judge’s Uncle John Gomez said.
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It was last Friday, Nov. 8, when a fire broke out at the Hill Park Apartments, near Pikes Peak Avenue and Murray Boulevard. What was first thought of as being solely a mattress fire quickly turned into the scene of a murder.
While firefighters were working to put out the fire, they noticed an arm laying on the box spring. The arm turned out to be that of little Jude. He was found wrapped in a smoldering blanket, according to the affidavit.
As firefighters started chest compressions on Jude, water came out of his mouth. Jude showed no signs of life and was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Inside the apartment, firefighters also found a naked and wet woman in a closed closet. She was later identified as Shannon Dodson, Jude’s mother. She was sitting up with her arms wrapped around her knees. Firefighters said that she would not open her eyes or respond to them.
Additionally, the affidavit showed that firefighters found the bathtub filled with water to the overflow drain.
An autopsy on Jude showed he did not die from the fire, but instead from drowning.
When the apartment manager was first told of the fire, he tried to make his way into the apartment. He barely made it in because the door had been barricaded by furniture.
Additionally, matches and a half-empty bottle of over-the-counter sleeping medication were found in the apartment.
Dodson was taken to a local hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where she eventually spoke to police detectives. That’s when she, according to the affidavit, confessed to killing her own son.
The detective asked Dodson if she knew why they were there. She became emotional and then said, “Because I killed my son.”
Dodson, the affidavit showed, gave no additional details of the incident other than saying that she thought they would ‘go together’ and that she shouldn’t have done it. She also said she couldn’t believe she did it.
Further digging into this case revealed that Jude should have never been in the custody of his mother when he was killed.
He had actually gone missing nearly a week before he died, his family said. Jude was on a scheduled visit with his mom and was supposed to return him on Sunday Nov. 3.
Jude’s father and grandmother said when Dodson didn’t return him, they went to her apartment but they did not make contact.
The family then contacted the police department and the Sheriff’s Office on the basis of a court order violation. Service calls from both agencies showed that officers went to the home but were not able to find Jude.
An emergency motion was filed on Tuesday, Nov. 5, just three days before the fire, the family said.
Jude’s father and grandmother said they were trying to change the custody agreement because they weren’t comfortable with the current one. They were hoping to make Dodson’s visits supervised only.
When Jude was just 6-months-old, the family said Dodson moved Jude to Pennsylvania. She moved back to Colorado Springs in Oct. 2012 and got in touch with Jude’s father through Facebook.
Because of neglect issues and suspected drug use, the family said they were able to get custody of Jude. Dodson was allowed to have visitations only on the weekend.
An aunt told police that Jude had told her that “he did not like to shower or take baths at his mom’s house because she liked to dunk his head under water,” according to the affidavit.
One of Dodson’s adult daughters told police that Dodson told her that she wanted to die and would kill Jude and herself. The daughter talked with her mother and she said she would not do it.
Jude’s family argues that this whole incident could have prevented.
“This is horrible, a complete tragedy, and it is because it is preventable,” Jude’s uncle John Gomez said. “Preventable from the top down.”
Gomez questioned why there wasn’t an AMBER alert issued. According to some of the guidelines from the Department of Justice, an AMBER alert can only be issued if there is reasonable belief that abduction has happened.
Dodson is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday afternoon to hear the charges she is facing.
