Two suspects have been arrested in the slaying of a Fort Worth man who was found Oct. 28 in a burning vehicle at a natural gas site in Godley, according to a news release from the Johnson County sheriff's department.
Dean Allen Walden, 47, and Joseph Robert Dodson, 31, both of Fort Worth, were arrested Wednesday and Thursday in Fort Worth.They face capital murder charges in the death of Robert Excell Dodson, 44.Joseph Dodson and Robert Dodson are not related, Sheriff Bob Alford said.Robert Dodson was the man who reported to Fort Worth police in June that he had found a girl dead at the back door of his Tanglewood home. The girl, identified as Claudia Hidic, 17, had orchestrated a robbery of Dodson's home after he refused to lend her money, police reported. She was shot in the head when guns were drawn during the robbery.Investigators believe that Robert Dodson was slain between Burleson and Rendon in Tarrant County, Alford said in a phone interview.Strangulation appeared to be the cause of death, he said.The Tarrant County medical examiner's office, which handles Johnson County cases, has not reported on Dodson.Dodson's body was loaded into his own sport utility vehicle and was driven to the natural gas well site on County Road 915 and Skyline Drive in Godley where the vehicle was set ablaze, investigators reported.In addition to the Johnson County sheriff's department, Fort Worth police, Texas Rangers and the district attorneys for Johnson and Tarrant County have worked on the case, the news release stated.Alford declined to provide further information about the investigation, such as a connection between Dodson and the suspects, or a possible motive."We've just been following leads," Alford said. "That's all we can really say right now."He did say that investigators have found no connection between the deaths of Robert Dodson and Claudia Hidic.Walden was in the Johnson County Jail Thursday night with bail set at $250,000.Joseph Dodson was in the Tarrant County Jail. No bail was set because he is also being held as a parole violator. Online records indicate he was convicted on a drug-related charge in Lubbock in 2006. Robert Dodson, the father of three children, was a vice president at Buckley Oil Co., a family-owned business in Dallas. He lettered in sports in high school in Kerrville and played football at TCU, where he graduated in 1992, according to an obituary placed in the Star-Telegram by his family.On June 28, he reported to Fort Worth police that he had found a girl dead at the back door of his home in Fort Worth.The victim was identified as Hidic.This report includes material from Star-Telegram archives.Bill Miller, 817-390-7684Twitter: @Bill_MillerST
Fort Worth teen shot during robbery lived a difficult life
2 Fort Worth men indicted in teen girl's slaying in Tanglewood
Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
