Rocky Dodson (Photo courtesy of Boone County Sheriff’s Office)
It’s been over two years since former area coach and principal Rocky Brian Dodson was arrested for the death of his wife, Amanda Dodson, in Boone County. Last week, his lawyer filed a new motion in his case saying the most logical explication for her death was Amanda falling because she was intoxicated and struck her throat. The lawyer, Shane Wilkinson of Bentonville, paints an unpleasant picture of Amanda’s alcoholism throughout the 17-page motion to suppress evidence and questions tactics used and the ethics of investigators in the case, in particular Shauna Isbell.
The probable cause affidavit in the case from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office indicates Rocky woke up the morning of March 6, 2022, and discovered Amanda was dead in their home in Omaha. Rocky told investigators Amanda was intoxicated the previous night and he was asleep in the living room when he awoke around 2:30 AM and had to let her in the house. He helped her to the couch and then went to bed. When he woke up the next morning, she was dead.
An autopsy was conducted at the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock. The findings showed external bruising and hemorrhaging of the front of the neck, severe edema through the neck muscles and a broken and crushed tracheal cartilage. Dr. Cunningham in the crime lab said the injuries were consistent with severe blunt force trauma, saying the injury would cause severe distress due to lack of air in which the injured might wheeze, cough or gurgle.
In the court filing last week, Wilkinson says investigators repeatedly attempted to get Rocky to confess that he caused the injury to Amanda, but he refused. He was placed under arrest for the murder of Amanda at the conclusion of the interview.
WARRANTS LACK PROBABLE CAUSE
Wilkinson contends Rocky’s arrest was warrantless and the search warrant that was executed was in violation of his fourth amendment rights, which protects Americans from unreasonable searches and seizures. He says both the arrest warrant and search warrant lacked probable cause and relied entirely on suspicion, speculation and conjecture.
The attorney says the warrants show “no factual basis that Rocky must have caused Amanda’s throat injury and therefore he must have murdered her. The only facts provided are that Amanda Dodson was a chronic alcoholic who was discovered with an unexplained throat injury, (quoting the affidavit) ‘This affiant believes that Rocky Brian Dodson was the only person present and who had the ability to inflict the blow on Amanda Dodson that caused her death.’ Nothing in Isbell’s summary of Dr. Cunningham’s findings indicates that Amanda’s injury per se had to be caused by human agency. Rather, the affidavit takes great leaps to intentionally ignore Occam’s Razor. The simplest and most likely explanation for Amanda’s death is that she was extremely intoxicated and fell down, as extremely intoxicated individuals frequently do, and struck her throat on some object such as a countertop.”
Wilkinson went on to say “…this case does not involve any probable conclusion that a murder even occurred…Amanda’s injury was not even consistent with strangulation. The only fact present in that Amanda suffered an unexplained blunt force injury to the throat. There is no way to reach the conclusion that Rocky Dodson inflicted the injury without resorting to unconstitutional speculation and conjecture. The mere ‘possibility’ that maybe Rocky struck Amanda was not a lawful basis for his arrest and the subsequent searches.”
WARRANTS MIDLEADING WITH FALSE STATEMENTS AND OMISSIONS
Wilkinson says in addition to not having probable cause, the warrants are infirm because Investigator Isbell violated her constitutional duty to fully and fairly apprise the court of all of the material facts to enable a true and fair evaluation of the existence of probable cause.
He points to the probable cause affidavit saying the throat injury could only be caused by Rocky, but the official cause of death listed on the autopsy report was undetermined. Wilkinson says in the court filing he spoke with Dr. Cunningham who says she did not have a cause of death and did not tell Isbell the death was the result of a homicide because she was waiting to review Amanda’s toxicology results.
Wilkinson also contends in his motion to suppress that Investigator Isbell omitted the fact that the toxicology report was still pending. The report showed Amanda had a blood alcohol content level of 0.468, a potentially fatal level.
Wilkinson says “when the various exculpatory omissions are read into the affidavits, it becomes abundantly clear that there was never any probable cause to arrest Rocky Brian Dodson or issue any search warrants. The full evidence is that Amanda was a chronic alcoholic who suffered an unexplained throat injury while she was severely intoxicated. To make the leap that Rocky must have murdered his wife defies logic renders the text of the Fourth Amendment mere wallpaper.”
Rocky Dodson is free on bond. His murder trial has been continued multiple times. Currently, it is scheduled to begin July 1.
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