baylor

Having not seen the Update, I am reading the news headlines on the web tonight. On DallasNews.com I learned that Carlton Dotson has confessed to killing Patrick Dennehy.

A quick trip to HoustonChronicle.com finds the AP story Police: Ex-Baylor basketball player charged with murder. No mention of a confession.

Next stop, Waco Tribune-Herald. The site has not been updated to reflect any news of the day on the story.

Then I headed to over to Austin’s Statesman.com. The site has roughly the same AP article as HoustonChronicle.com, but adds this insightful paragraph:

As he left the court commissioner’s office Monday night, Dotson told a reporter: “I didn’t confess to anything. Call the FBI.” Shortly after his arrest, Dotson had referred all questions to his lawyer.

A look at the nation media shows Matt Drudge linking to the same AP story via WashingtonPost.com. ESPN and FoxNews.com also report the similar stories.

So what is going on here? What do Lee Hancock and Matt Mosley at The Dallas Morning News know that no one else seems to know? Sure the “authorities” are reporting a confession, but shouldn’t his public claim denying a confession stand as the story. Is the affidavit the basis of his confession? Will DallasNews.com pull the headline when no one else is reporting the same story?

Update: DallasNews.com has updated the headline and story on Carlton Dotson. Waco police are now listed as the source for the confession line and while the paper acknowledges Dotson’s denial of a confession. The article has the following header as I type the update at 1:33AM: Last modified: 01:03 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 22, 2003

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