Join us for a special March Madness Murders episode of "Murder: True Crime Stories." In 2003, 21-year-old Patrick Dennehy’s basketball career was tragically cut short when he was found shot dead in Waco, Texas. The ensuing investigation revealed a tragic conspiracy that reached the highest levels of Baylor University. Years later, in 2010, another basketball star lost his life far too soon. That year, 34-year-old retired NBA player Lorenzen Wright was brutally murdered in Memphis, Tennessee. And the person responsible was closer to home than anyone could’ve imagined. "Murder: True Crime Stories" is a Crime House Original. Follow us on Instagram @crimehouse for more true crime content. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: Why are basketball-related murders being discussed?
This is Crime House. Since its founding in 1946, the National Basketball Association has grown to become one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. With millions of fans and billions of dollars at play, the stakes are high, and the competition is fierce. Every year, thousands of college players fight for their dreams of going pro.
And there's one surefire way to get an NBA team's attention, crushing it during March Madness. For those who make the cut, it might seem like a fairy tale. But a lot of the time, the reality of being an athlete is much darker than anyone knows. And in some cases, it's even deadly. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end.
But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original. Every Tuesday, I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders. I'll be bringing awareness to stories that need to be heard with a focus on those who are impacted.
At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters. And for ad-free and early access to murder true crime stories, plus exciting Crime House bonus content, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts.
Before we get started, you should know this episode includes graphic discussions of murder. Listener discretion is advised. With March Madness kicking off, this one-part special is highlighting two notorious basketball-related murders, one from the world of college basketball and one from the NBA.
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Chapter 2: Who was Patrick Dennehy and what happened to him?
First, we'll dive into the disappearance and murder of 21-year-old Patrick Dennehy, a promising young player with dreams of going pro. In the summer of 2003, he transferred to the Baylor University Bears. But before he could play a single game, he vanished. The winding investigation led detectives to a shocking discovery that involved the university's head coach.
After that, we'll move to the murder of 34-year-old Lorenzen Wright, who played for several NBA teams but was retired at the time of his death. In the wake of Lorenzen's murder in 2010, detectives searched far and wide for his killer. After nearly a decade, they arrested several people, and it turned out the mastermind was closer to home than anyone ever thought possible.
All that and more, coming up. I've got some exciting news. Crime House Studios is launching a new original show called Killer Minds. Hosted by licensed forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Engels and Crime House's Vanessa Richardson, each episode features a deep dive into the psychology of a notorious murderer. From serial killers to cult leaders, deadly exes, and spree killers.
Killer Minds is a Crime House Studios original. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts. By the mid-1990s, the Baylor University men's basketball team was floundering. In the nearly 50 years since the school's program was established, they'd only had one March Madness appearance.
By 1999, the Waco, Texas-based team was desperate for a change, so they searched for a new coach. They had their eyes on Dave Bliss, who had had success with the Southern Methodist and New Mexico University men's basketball teams. That year, Baylor awarded him a whopping five-year, $3 million contract, making Bliss one of the highest-paid coaches in the Big 12 Conference.
But even with Dave Bliss at the helm, the team continued to struggle. After a mediocre 2002-2003 season, Bliss knew he needed to find more talented players. So besides recruiting better high school seniors, he looked for college athletes willing to transfer from other schools. One of those students was Patrick Dennehy.
By the time 21-year-old Patrick came to Baylor in the summer of 2003, he was hoping for a fresh start. Born and raised in Santa Clara, California, Patrick had always dreamed of going pro. Unfortunately, he wasn't recruited by any of the major teams like Duke or Kentucky out of high school. Instead, he hoped his path to the NBA would begin at a smaller school, the University of New Mexico.
where Dave Bliss used to coach. Patrick's time at New Mexico was filled with a lot of ups and downs, on and off the court. Allegedly, he got into an argument with a teammate after a particularly tough loss, and at one point, he was permanently kicked off the team for leaving a workout early.
Despite these issues, Bliss saw something special in the young player, and in 2003, he asked Patrick to join the Baylor Bears. Patrick jumped at the opportunity. After his missteps at New Mexico, he wasn't sure he'd get another chance on the court. Luckily, he wasn't in it alone. He quickly bonded with one of his new teammates, 21-year-old Carlton Dotson. Carlton was also a transfer student.
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Chapter 3: How was Carlton Dotson involved in Patrick Dennehy's murder?
And investigators didn't find anything in or around the vehicle that might have led them to Patrick. For the moment, it seemed like detectives were out of leads. But then on June 30th, a suspect landed in their lap. That day, Waco police got a call from the authorities in Delaware. Apparently, Patrick's cousin had told them he was dead. And the killer was Patrick's best friend, Carlton Dotson.
Police back in Texas were stunned. If this was true, they needed to speak with Carlton right away. A few days later, they found him in his home state of Maryland and brought him in for questioning. But Carlton wasn't under arrest yet and didn't have a lawyer present. so he was very careful about what he said.
In the end, he didn't give them any new information about Patrick's whereabouts or whether he was still alive. With no help from Carlton and no evidence to hold him on, detectives were forced to look elsewhere. Over the next few weeks, investigators continued to question those closest to Patrick, But no matter how many people they talked to, no one seemed to know what happened to him.
However, despite the lack of leads, these interviews did help detectives learn what happened in the days leading up to Patrick's disappearance. Apparently, Patrick and Carlton were involved with some local drug dealers. In early June, Patrick and Carlton started receiving threats from them. At first, it seemed like nothing more than hot air. But then someone broke into Patrick's car.
The incident sent the boys into a frenzy and they decided to buy guns to protect themselves. Now, with Patrick missing, the authorities looked into the allegations. But they couldn't find anything to substantiate the claims or lead them to Patrick. And it seemed like detectives were back to square one. But finally, about a month after Patrick disappeared on July 17th, 2003, they caught a break.
That day, Carlton called his local police in Maryland. He said he wanted to talk to them and the FBI. Both parties brought him in for questioning, but it didn't go exactly as planned. During the interview, Carlton seemed panicked. He said demons were after him because he was, quote, Jesus, son of God. It seemed like another dead end.
But then a few days later, Maryland detectives got a second call from Carlton. This time he was contacting them from a psychiatric hospital. Apparently, he'd had a mental breakdown and was seeking treatment, but he was well enough to tell the detectives everything.
He told them that back in June, a day or two before Patrick's disappearance, the two of them had gone to a friend's property on the outskirts of Waco to practice shooting their new guns. As they fired off round after round, something strange happened. According to Carlton, Patrick had pointed his gun at Carlton and pulled the trigger. The gun jammed, but Carlton was freaked out.
In response, he'd aimed his weapon at Patrick's head and fired, killing his friend. After Carlton realized what he'd done, he'd made a run for it. He hopped into Patrick's Chevy Tahoe and drove all the way from Texas to Maryland. Along the way, he convinced a relative to wire him some money.
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Chapter 4: What was the scandal involving Baylor University's basketball program?
Bliss knew that, but he also knew Patrick couldn't afford the tuition otherwise. So Bliss paid Patrick's tuition himself without him knowing. He also threw in some additional gifts, including Patrick's Chevy Tahoe. While these allegations didn't have any legal ramifications, they did violate the National Collegiate Athletic Association's bylaws. The NCAA is very clear.
A coach cannot personally pay for an athlete's tuition, nor pay him in other ways. If the claims against Bliss were true, Baylor was looking at some major consequences, including losing scholarship funding or postseason bans. If that happened, the Bears wouldn't be allowed to play in tournaments like March Madness. And of course, it also meant their coach might be forced to resign.
Even just one of these punishments could set the team back years. Bliss knew he could be in serious trouble. But instead of owning up to his mistakes, he decided to drag Patrick Dennehy's name through the mud. While the authorities were searching for Patrick earlier that summer, Bliss had started spreading some nasty rumors about Patrick and Carlton.
He told anyone who would listen they were drug dealers, which was pretty convenient since Patrick wasn't exactly able to defend himself at the time. But Bliss was willing to do whatever it took to protect his reputation. He hoped to control the narrative by raising the possibility that any money Patrick had, including tuition payments, had actually come from selling drugs.
But if Bliss wanted that story to stick, he needed some help. Just before the end of July 2003, around the time Carlton Dotson was arrested, Bliss approached his assistant coaches. He told them he wanted to find some players who would support his claims against Carlton and Patrick.
According to Bliss, he knew he could get a player named Harvey Thomas to support his drug dealing allegations because Bliss had lied for Thomas. Apparently, Bliss had watched Thomas in a pickup game before he was officially recruited, which was a violation of NCAA rules. Bliss promised to keep the game a secret as long as Thomas went along with his plan.
Thomas didn't want to put his basketball career in jeopardy and agreed. With Thomas on board, Bliss wanted two more players to back him up. It's not clear how he convinced them to take his side, but by early August 2003, Bliss had his three guys, and they met with an internal committee that was investigating the allegations against Bliss. They testified that Patrick Dennehy was a drug dealer.
It looked like Bliss was in the clear. But then, on August 8th, 2003, it all blew up. That day, Bliss met with the head of the investigative committee. At this time, they asked him to submit a copy of his bank statements. Bliss knew this was the one piece of evidence he couldn't lie about.
Not only would these statements reveal that he had been paying for Patrick's tuition, but they would also lead to the revelation that he had paid for another player's tuition too. The same day he was asked about the bank statements, Dave Bliss resigned as head coach. In the wake of the resignation, Baylor sanctioned itself by declaring that it would not play in any postseason games that year.
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Chapter 5: How did the legal proceedings unfold for Carlton Dotson?
Now, all of America could see just how low Bliss was willing to go to protect himself. Because Bliss hadn't only trashed Patrick Dennehy's reputation, he allegedly knew Patrick was in danger and did nothing. According to some reports, Bliss knew Patrick had received threats but chose to ignore it, something Bliss had repeatedly denied.
Whether it's true or not, it's clear that Dave Bliss was willing to betray Patrick in order to save himself. A young man he'd personally asked to play for him, who some said looked up to Bliss like a father figure, all just to avoid being caught in a problem of his own making. After the show aired, Dave Bliss retired from coaching, but the damage he'd done was irreversible.
And Patrick Dennehy paid the ultimate price. Coming up, another basketball-related murder covering the tragic death of Memphis Grizzlies hometown hero Lorenzen Wright. Patrick Dennehy's story is a tragic one, and unfortunately, it's not the only basketball-related murder that's made headlines. Even when a player does manage to achieve his dreams and go pro, it doesn't mean he leaves danger behind.
Sometimes it follows him and comes from the most unexpected place possible. Such was the case with Lorenzen Wright. On Sunday, July 18, 2010, 34-year-old Lorenzen flew into Memphis, Tennessee. After 13 years in the NBA, he had recently retired and settled down in Atlanta.
But Lorenzen's ex-wife, Shara, and their children still lived in the area, so he was constantly flying into Memphis to see the kids. Lorenzen also made sure to see his friends when he was in town. That day, his buddy Phil Dotson picked him up from the airport. They spent a few hours hanging out at Phil's place.
Then they went to a local gym to pick up Lorenzen's son, Lorenzen Jr., where he was playing basketball. According to Phil, Lorenzen said Shara wanted them to drop Junior off at her house. They arrived at her place in Collierville, a suburb of Memphis, around 10 p.m. He watched as Lorenzen and Junior got out of the car and headed to the front door. But something wasn't right.
According to Phil, Lorenzen said he needed to, quote, deal with this and would call Phil later that evening. It was the last time he'd see his friend alive. A few days later, Phil got a call from Lorenzen's mom, Debra. She wanted to know if he'd spoken to Lorenzen recently. Phil said he hadn't heard from him since he dropped Lorenzen and his son off at Shara's the other night.
When Deborah contacted Lorenzen's other friends in the area, they all said the same thing. No one had heard from Lorenzen in days. Some wondered if he'd left town without saying goodbye. Deborah hoped they were right, but after four days had passed with no word from her son, she couldn't sit around and do nothing. On July 22nd, she reported Lorenzen missing.
It didn't take long for the news to spread like wildfire through the city. For many in Memphis, Lorenzen was a hometown hero. Although he'd actually grown up in Mississippi, his family had moved to Memphis when he was a teen. He attended Booker T. Washington High School, where he played basketball. And it didn't take long for Lorenzen and his coaches to realize he was good. Really good.
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