Tennessee prosecutors just concluded their case against a murderer who took inspiration from a fictional serial killer. The killer’s crimes were so heinous that his punishment was just as unfathomable.
Joshua Dotson, 25, was convicted in the killing of his 19-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Jamesha Covson, and her unborn child from June of 2020. Memphis police say he shot the two through her front door after becoming angry with her. While testifying at trial in October, Dotson didn’t seem to say much to defend himself but rather spoke down on the victim and glorified his violent ways, per USA TODAY. Prosecutors accused him of slamming Covson as a “sex worker” and also claimed he targeted her because she had knowledge of his prior killings, the report says.
Yes, you read that right. While on trial for murder, Dotson tipped off that was behind three more killings. The U.S. Marshals confirmed the shooting deaths of Reginald Anderson and Renita Bennett from May of 2020 were two of the killings. The last one stemmed from a Memphis police investigation into the shooting death of 18-year-old Divieon Parker, per WREG.
As if his horrid confession wasn’t enough, Dotson also referred to himself as a serial killer on the stand and compared himself to the “Halloween” franchise’s fictional serial killer Michael Myers, the reports say.
After being convicted in Covson’s killing, Dotson pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon to the remaining murders. His original 102-year prison sentence was then increased to 261 years in prison. Is it possible to even serve that amount of time? Lord knows, but it’s clear the court wanted to ensure he’d never be free to walk the streets again.
“While no amount of time in prison will bring the victims back to their loved ones, we are content that he will never be a threat to our community again,” said lead prosecutor Regina Lucreziano via WREG.