Charles David Dodson

Rogers, AR  – On Tuesday morning, 50-year-old Charles David Dodson and his wife, Brenda, had a marital spat.   First there was the yelling.  Then there was Brenda Dodson, outside in her nightgown, with a head wound.  Police arrived to find both Dodsons on the front porch – Brenda holding her bloodied head, and Chuck waving a gas can around.  As officers approached, Charles Dodson walked inside his house, emptied the gas can, and set his house on fire.  With the couple’s disabled teenage daughter inside.  Merry ChristmasMerry Christmas reviews! 

Charles Dodson, 50, had a lot of reasons to be stressed this year – not that any of them excuse his behavior.  The Dodsons attempted to file for bankruptcy in MarchMarch reviews, but couldn’t pay their attorney.  They had just gotten enough cash together to file Chapter 13 on December 5.  Their daughter has what appears to be severe ataxic cerebral palsy or perhaps a brain injury.  While I’m not completely sure of the girl’s diagnosis, it’s never easy to care for a disabled child long term.

Thing is, parents file for bankruptcy and deal with disabled or otherwise difficult children all the time. Generally, they do not resort to burning down the house – certainly not with the kid inside.

Police first got the call about 11:20 a.m. on Tuesday, when a neighbor saw Brenda Dodson walking down the street in her nightgown on an icy, negative wind-chill morning.  Brenda was holding her head and the neighbor called police to go see what was happening at the Dodson house.  Officers arrived within a few minutes to find Brenda on the porch with Charles.  Granting that she was injured, I’m still not sure why Brenda just sat on the porch and didn’t go inside to her daughter.

Charles Dodson was yelling incoherently, waving around a two gallon gas can.  After yelling at the officers that his daughter was inside, Dodson went into the house.  It appeared he was going to check on his kid, except for the big red gas can in his hand.  As officers approached the house, the heard an explosion followed by a girl’s scream, and the house began to go up in flames.

Rogers PD Officer Brad Abercrombie saw flames coming out of the front door of the home.  Without thought to his own safety, Officer Abercrombie ran into the burning house and rescued the wheelchair-bound teen, carrying her outside to safety.  The fire department, who was arriving on scene, was able to extinguish the fire within ten minutes.  The house was extensively damaged inside, but might be salvageable.

One hopes the Dodson marriage is well and truly melted, though.  Really, setting the house on fire with the kid in it would pretty much be a dealbreaker for me, if the head wound didn’t do it first.

Brenda Dodson and Charles Dodson were both taken to Mercy Medical Center in Rogers.  The girl was treated and released.  As of yesterday afternoon, Brenda Dodson was in stable condition with a head injury.  Charles Dodson was treated and then booked into the Benton County Jail, where he is being held without bond pending an investigation.

Currently, Charles Dodson is charged with felony arson, felony domestic battery, and felony child endangerment. A spokesman for Rogers PD says that more charges may be filed, as a Rogers firefighter sustained chemical burns while inside the home.  As usual, I’ll update as I get new information.

Share