A five-year-old who authorities say was allegedly drowned by his mother before being caught in a fire has been ruled by the El Paso County Coroner’s Office to be the 29th homicide of 2013 in the city of Colorado Springs.
Jude Marray-Gomez, five, was allegedly drowned by his mother, 42-year-old Shannon Dodson, before her home at the Hill Park Apartments on the 4300 block of Pikes Peak Avenue caught fire last week.
Dodson, who was injured in the fire and subsequently hospitalized, confessed to police while receiving treatment, according to court documents obtained by The Gazette.
Dodson has been charged with first-degree murder.
On Nov. 8 at 9:16 a.m., the Colorado Springs Police Department received a call for an “Urgent Assist” from the Colorado Springs Fire Department to the Hill Park Apartments located at 4320 E. Pikes Peak Avenue, according to a press release.
“What began as a fire has now become a death investigation,” police said last week in a statement. “The Colorado Springs Fire Department will determine the cause and origin of the fire and CSPD will await the results of an autopsy while they continue with their death investigation.”
Details of the fire reported by The Gazette portrayed a grisly crime scene.
“The case continues to be investigated by the CSPD Violent Crimes Unit in conjunction with the District Attorney’s Office,” police said in a press release. “Any additional charges will be added after further review of the investigation.”
With Marray-Gomez’s death, the city has inched closer to the record of 32 homicides in one year set in 2011.
Jesse Paul, Editor-in-Chief