Clifford Dotson 2yo Starves To Death; Parents Questioned

**sugarfree irony** · May 10th, 2012, 03:29 PM

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/ma...death-parents/

A 2-year-old Roane County boy starved to death after being fed only once a day, often restrained in a car seat inside his parent's residence, authorities said.

When the mother brought Clifford Dotson's body into Fort Loudoun Medical Center in Lenoir City early May 3, it weighed 12 pounds, Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton said Wednesday.

The average 2-year-old weighs about two-and-a-half times as much, or around 30 pounds.

Preliminary results of an autopsy May 4 at the Regional Forensic Center in Knoxville concluded the child died of severe malnutrition.

Stockton, shown pictures of the body, called them "the worst thing I'd seen in my 30 years of law enforcement."

The infant was the son of Matthew and Amanda Dotson of Lerchen Road, just east of Kingston.

The victim's 6-year-old brother was removed from the home and placed in protective custody with the Department of Children's Services, Stockton said.

Stockton said investigator Art Wolff interviewed both parents after reading them their rights against self-incrimination.

Wolff was told the child had often been kept in a locked child restraint seat placed inside the family's residence and was fed once a day, the sheriff said.

Stockton said no charges have been filed yet.

Wolff said his investigation is ongoing, but he expects the case will be presented to the Roane County grand jury when it convenes June 18.

I can't find pictures of the parents yet . Poor baby was restrained , and starved ; hopefully the 6 year old is young enough to move past this . If they don't return him to his parents after a year , or two .

Video at this link http://www.wbir.com/news/article/219...on-and-neglect states Clifford lived most of his life in the car seat .

**Bohring** · May 10th, 2012, 03:44 PM

Disgusting creatures. Should be put in straight jackets and left locked away somewhere until they starve to death.

**kniption** · May 10th, 2012, 03:48 PM

Sad. They are going to send this to a Grand Jury, so you may not find pictures of them until they are arrested. ...at least not through news outlets.

Here is a link to an informative news video on the case...

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/219403/2/Roane-Sheriff-Neglected-2-year-old-weighed-only-12-lbs-when-he-died

**Valasca** · May 10th, 2012, 04:30 PM

stabstabstabstabstab

**AngelFire** · May 10th, 2012, 04:49 PM

My heart can't take these starvation stories. God, what a horrible way to die.

**Aena** · May 11th, 2012, 09:29 AM

I agree @AngelFire I can't handle the starvation or the burning stories. I am scared to death of fire. My mom is always bitching at me because she says I spend too much money on food, because I let my kids eat when they want, and usually what they like. I don't buy a ton of junk food either, they are weird, they like fruits, yogurt, and of course junk food but they would rather have fruit most of the time. When I read about these people starving their kids I just can't wrap my brain around it, how can you watch your child slowly die because of FOOD? If you are too lazy to cook for them, buy microwave meals, I do sometimes when I don't have time to cook (school all day). I just don't understand it.

**Marv** · May 11th, 2012, 04:29 PM

Clifford lived most of his life in the car seat

How could anyone do that? How? Just look at that sweet, perfect little baby boy, and then picture his miserable existence as he grew up, strapped into a car seat and starved. Toddlers are inquisitive, they love to get into everything and discover their world. A seemingly boring living room is an adventure playground to a toddler. And all little Clifford could do is look on as he slowly starved to death in his fucking car seat.

These two wicked, evil bastards need to have pain inflicted upon them. Lots and lots of pain, and it should be severe. But not enough to kill them. That can come later when inflicting pain on them becomes boring (if that would ever happen), and then they can be strapped into a seat and starved to death.

**sugarfree irony** · May 20th, 2012, 03:34 PM

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2012/.../?breakingnews

KINGSTON — The father of a toddler who starved to death earlier this month pins the blame on the mother, who he said "takes pain pills and has lupus," a Roane County Sheriff's Office incident report indicates.

Matthew Dotson told a deputy he hadn't seen his two sons awake "in many days" and was hardly at the Lerchen Road trailer where the family lives, Deputy Victor Swymer's report indicates.

The finger pointing has begun . My aunt has lupus ; her kid never missed a meal . I'm still looking for pictures of these losers . This poor lady has the misfortune of being named Amanda Dotson , and is intelligent enough to have her phone number listed on facebook. .

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/219...-Clinton-woman

According to Amanda Marie Dotson, the two women are not related, and do not know each other.

However, that hasn't stopped dozens of callers from contacting and threatening her since the story broke, believing she was Dotson's mother.

"I started getting phone calls on Wednesday and Thursday," she explained. "It's just people giving me funny looks when [I] walk into a store and give them my ID."

Dotson, whose own child is almost 10, says she feels compelled to eat lunch with her daughter at school in order to prove to people that she feeds her.

"I'm afraid of the looks I'll get, and what people will say and anything like that," she said.

"My child will eat before I do!"

Before the name mix-up, Dotson said her cell phone number was listed on her Facebook profile. She has since removed it.

She hopes her story is a lesson to others, encouraging them to think before they act, especially when contacting people they do not know.

**LadyCygnet** · May 21st, 2012, 11:06 AM

KINGSTON — The father of a toddler who starved to death earlier this month pins the blame on the mother, who he said "takes pain pills and has lupus," a Roane County Sheriff's Office incident report indicates.

Matthew Dotson told a deputy he hadn't seen his two sons awake "in many days" and was hardly at the Lerchen Road trailer where the family lives, Deputy Victor Swymer's report indicates.

In that case, he should have taken more responsibility where his children were concerned. Didn't he care at all that his baby was living in a car seat and wasting away? How could any parent, custodial or not, witness that kind of treatment and not flip out and call the cops before laying a smackdown on the offending parent?

And as I've said before in cases where an underweight child starves to death (or near-death), the parents should have been taking their child to the doctor and DEMANDING solutions to help the child gain weight and grow appropriately. My daughter's a hummingbird to my B-52, but I feed her whatever she'll eat and take her to the doctor for regular checkups to ensure that she's growing appropriately. We also have WIC, and they do height and weight checks every quarter, which helps us make sure she's still growing, even if it's just slow and steady. I just can't fathom parents who don't take every step they can to ensure that their children grow appropriately and won't raise hell to find out what's causing the lack of growth when it doesn't happen.

**sugarfree irony** · June 21st, 2012, 08:36 PM

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/ju...arvation-case/

While the father of a toddler who starved to death has tried to blame his wife, both parents have been indicted on charges of first-degree murder, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Matthew Dotson, 26, and 25-year-old Amanda Dotson were indicted Monday by a Roane County grand jury in the death of 28-month-old Clifford Dotson.

Amanda Johnson was taken into custody about 5 p.m. Tuesday in Cocke County, according to Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton.

Authorities were continuing to look for Matthew Dotson, he said.

An autopsy determined the child died of severe malnutrition, and a more extensive examination was ordered to see if other medical conditions or diseases could have played a role in the death.

During their investigation, officials were told Clifford was often fed only once a day and was frequently kept confined in a child-restraint seat inside the family's mobile home on Lerchen Road, east of Kingston.

District Attorney General Russell Johnson said bonds have been set at $100,000 each, and arraignment is scheduled for Monday in Roane County Criminal Court.

The deputy who went to the residence early May 3 described the couple's other child, a 6-year-old boy, as "unusually thin" and "very dirty."

That child was taken into protective custody by the Department of Children's Services and was placed in a foster home.

Deputy Victor Swymer's incident report described a residence in disarray that morning, with a "toilet blocked and full of waste," and a waist-high pile of dirty clothes in the bathroom closet.

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/223...ath-of-toddler

**sugarfree irony** · June 26th, 2012, 01:37 PM

Arraignments for a couple charged with first-degree murder in the starvation death of their toddler son have been reset for July 13, prosecutor Bill Reedy said this morning.

Reedy said the "logistics were untenable" for arraignments originally scheduled Monday for Matthew and Amanda Dotson in Roane County Criminal Court.

Reedy said due to the nature of the charges against the couple, they are being kept apart from the rest of the Roane County Jail population as well as each other.

"Any time there are allegations of child abuse, other inmates tend to act out," Reedy said. "These allegations are pretty nasty."

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/ju...ld-starvation/

I wish they were not being separated from the other inmates .

**Krystal** · June 26th, 2012, 01:40 PM

I really hate that they protect these POS's for their own safety. No one protected the child they slaughtered, feed them to the other inmates and let them tear them apart like they are rabid hyenas.

**sugarfree irony** · July 16th, 2012, 06:25 PM

A Roane County couple accused of starving their toddler son to death was set to be in court Friday morning.

Matthew and Amanda Dotson face first degree murder charges in the death of their son, Clifford. The 2-year-old died in May. An autopsy showed his cause of death was malnutrition. Deputies say the two year old was sometimes only fed once a day.

Amanda Dotson's public defender had a conflict and rescheduled her arraignment to July 17th. She remains in the Roane County jail.

Matthew Dotson posted a $100-thousand dollar bond on June 29th.

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/226...is-out-on-bond

**Marv** · July 17th, 2012, 05:03 AM

Reedy said due to the nature of the charges against the couple, they are being kept apart from the rest of the Roane County Jail population as well as each other.

"Any time there are allegations of child abuse, other inmates tend to act out," Reedy said.

I vote we go back to the Roman Arena days. When parents are found guilty of heinous crimse like this, they should be thrown into an arena full of outraged inmates. Charge people to come and watch, and the money can go to the inmates by way of extra treats or tastier food if they put on a good show.

**sugarfree irony** · April 12th, 2013, 10:48 PM

Matthew Dotson is accused of starving his two-year-old son to death. Dotson faced a judge this morning in Roane County. His trial date has been moved to July 16th.

http://www.local8now.com/crimetracke...196508161.html