Westley Allan Dodd

Westley Allan Dodd was born in Toppenish, Washington, on July 3, 1961, the oldest of Jim and Carol Dodd's three children.[1] Dodd claimed he was never abused or neglected as a child.[2] He claimed, however, that the words "I love you" were never said to him as he grew up, nor could he ever remember saying them.[3] His younger brother Gregory was arrested in 2016 for the attempted sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl.[4][5]

The Seattle Times reported that Dodd described in a diary written during his imprisonment that his father was emotionally and physically abusive, that he was often neglected in favor of his younger siblings, and that he witnessed violent fights between his parents. At school, Dodd was not welcomed into any social groups, leaving him with no friends. By the age of 9, Dodd had discovered that he was sexually attracted to other boys.[6] On July 3, 1976—Dodd's 15th birthday—his father attempted suicide following an argument with his wife.[7] He graduated from Richland High School in 1979.

On November 13, 1989, Dodd drove to Camas, Washington, around 12 miles east of Vancouver, where he attempted to abduct 6-year-old James Kirk II from the restroom of the New Liberty Theatre. The child began fighting and crying as Dodd was leaving the theatre through the lobby, carrying the boy in his arms. Despite Dodd's attempts to calm the boy, theatre employees became suspicious and followed Dodd out to the street. Due to their pursuit, Dodd released his victim, got into his car, and drove away.[14]

The boyfriend of the boy's mother, William "Ray" Graves, came to the theatre lobby and was told that the boy had nearly been abducted. Graves went outside the theatre in the direction where Dodd was last seen. Dodd's car had broken down a short distance away from the theatre and he was attempting to start the motor. In order not to raise Dodd's suspicion and to stall for time, Graves pretended to be a passerby and offered to help him. He then put Dodd into a headlock and returned him to the theatre, where employees called the police.[14]

The local police contacted the Portland Police task force investigating the kidnapping and murder of Lee Iseli. Dodd was taken to the Camas Police station, where Portland task force lead detectives C.W. Jensen and Dave Trimble interviewed him. He was then taken to the Clark County jail in Vancouver, where Jensen and Trimble continued their interrogation over the course of three days. Eventually, Dodd confessed to all three murders. Jensen and Trimble then served a search warrant at Dodd's home in Vancouver.

During the search of Dodd's home, police discovered a homemade torture rack, along with newspaper clippings about his crimes, a briefcase containing Lee Iseli's underwear, a photo album containing pictures of Lee Iseli, and assorted photographs of children in newspaper and store catalogue underwear advertisements. They also discovered Dodd's diary, in which he wrote in detail about the murders.

Dodd was charged with aggravated first-degree murder in the deaths of the Neer brothers and Lee Iseli, plus attempted kidnapping of another child. He initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, but later changed his plea to guilty.

During his trial in Clark County Superior Court, the prosecution read aloud excerpts of Dodd's diary and displayed photographs of Lee Iseli. The defense did not call any witnesses or present any evidence, suggesting only that Dodd must be legally insane. The jury found Dodd guilty; prosecutors requested the death penalty and the jury agreed. Dodd would claim that speaking in his own defense was pointless, and ultimately, "the system had failed repeatedly". Washington State law gave Dodd the choice of execution by lethal injection or by hanging; Dodd stated that he wished to die by hanging because that was how he had killed Lee Iseli, his last victim.[15]

In 1990, Dodd was sentenced to death for the murder of the Neer brothers, as well as for the separate rape and murder of Lee Iseli.

Less than four years elapsed between the murders and Dodd's execution. He refused to appeal his case or the capital sentence. He insisted that he could not control his urges and would kill again, stating in one court brief: "I must be executed before I have an opportunity to escape or kill someone else. If I do escape, I promise you I will kill and rape again, and I will enjoy every minute of it."[1] He also said in some interviews that death would give him relief from guilt over the murders.[16] During his trial, he wrote a pamphlet on how parents could protect children from child molesters such as himself.[17]

Dodd's execution by hanging was the first in the United States since George York and James Latham were hanged by Kansas in 1965. The execution was witnessed by 12 members of local and regional media,[18] prison officials, and family members of the three victims. Dodd ordered broiled salmon and fried potatoes for his last meal. His last words, spoken from the second floor of the indoor gallows, were recorded by the media witnesses as:

I was once asked by somebody, I don't remember who, if there was any way sex offenders could be stopped. I said, 'No.' I was wrong. I was wrong when I said there was no hope, no peace. There is hope. There is peace. I found both in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Look to the Lord, and you will find peace.[19]

Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla.

Dodd was executed at 12:05 a.m. on January 5, 1993, at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. He was pronounced dead by the prison doctor and his body was transported to Seattle for autopsy. King County Medical Examiner Donald Reay found that Dodd had died quickly, within two to three minutes, though not from a broken neck, which is rarely the usual cause of death from hanging. Reay stated that Dodd's death had likely not been very painful.[20] Dodd was cremated following the autopsy, and his ashes turned over to his family.[21]

Dodd's profile was featured along with another convicted sexual predator imprisoned in Washington in the 1992 Frontline episode "Monsters Among Us".[26]

Dodd's crimes are included in the Investigation Discovery series Real Detective. In the episode titled "Malice", detective C. W. Jensen describes his involvement in bringing Dodd to justice and the effect it had on him personally.

In 2006 Discovery Channel television show Most Evil analyzed his life and crimes. He was ranked at level 22, the highest point of the scale.

Dodd was the basis for an unseen character, a child killer named "Wayne Dobbs", in the 2002 film Insomnia, starring Al Pacino. He was fictionalized as a man who murdered a young boy in a way similar to Dodd's murder of Lee Iseli.

Several books have been written about the case, including: When the Monster Comes Out of the Closet by Lori Steinhorst, who communicated with Dodd in writing and by phone almost daily for 18 months prior to his execution; Driven to Kill by true crime author Gary C. King;[27] and Dr. Ron Turco's book about his experience during the initial investigation to assist in developing a profile of the killer.[28]

• Sergey Golovkin

General:

• List of people executed in Washington
• List of serial killers in the United States

• Ostrom, Carol M.; Broom, Jack (January 3, 1993). "Westley Dodd: A Long, Steady Slide Into Dark Desperation". The Seattle Times. Seattle, Washington. Retrieved November 10, 2007.
• King, Gary C. (2000). Driven to Kill. New York City: Pinnacle Books. ISBN 978-0786013470.
• Dodd, Westley Allan; Rose, John; Steinhorst, Lori (1994). When the Monster Comes Out of the Closet. Peabody, Massachusetts: Rose Publishing. ISBN 978-1881170068.
• Stone, Michael H.; Brucato, Gary (2019). The New Evil: Understanding the Emergence of Modern Violent Crime. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books. pp. 413–414. ISBN 978-1-63388-532-5.