One defendant in the strangling death of an oil company executive has pleaded guilty to his role in the October 2012 slaying and was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison.
Joseph Dodson, 33, of Burleson, was one of two men arrested after the body of Robert Dodson II was found in the trunk of his burning car at a gas well site in Godley on Oct. 28, 2012.
Robert Dodson, 44 and the father of three, had been strangled, and the cord was still wrapped around his neck and limbs, authorities said.
Joseph Dodson and Robert Dodson were not related, authorities say.
Joseph Dodson must serve half of his sentence minus credit for time served in jail before he is eligible for parole, according to the Tarrant County district attorney’s office. He has been jailed since his arrest on Nov. 8, 2012.
His co-defendant, Dean Allen Walden, 47, remains in the Tarrant County Jail awaiting a capital murder trial, which is scheduled for July 2. Walden’s bail is $500,000.
Robert Dodson had been arrested earlier that month on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine. He told friends and relatives that he was afraid because someone was after him.
He was the man who reported to Fort Worth police in June 2012 that he had found a girl dead at the back door of his Tanglewood home. Investigators learned that the girl, 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 a gunfight broke out during the robbery.
Terrance Crumley and Curtis C. Fortenberry are serving prison sentences in Hidic’s death.
Investigators found no connection between the deaths of Robert Dodson and Claudia Hidic.
This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.
Mitch Mitchell, 817-390-7752
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