Aurora – The bodies of of a man and woman were found inside a Bel-Aire Estates home Friday afternoon in what police believe was a murder-suicide.
Three children living at the home, ages 12, 10 and 4, were in the house when the shooting occurred, Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates said. Oates said it appears the man shot his wife in the altercation.
The children were not physically injured. At least two of the children were not the biological children of the man. They were expected to be reunited with their father, the chief said.
“This is a domestic violence tragedy,” Oates said.
Just after 2 p.m., the 12-year-old girl called 911 and reported that she was locked inside the study with her 10-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister and that their mother was arguing with their step-father when gunshots rang out. The home is located in the 14700 block of East Purdue Place in Southwest Aurora.
The girl told police dispatch that she heard one gunshot, then arguing and then another two gunshots in succession. Police described the girl as a bright and intuitive and probably gathered that her mother and step-father were dead.
Aurora officers, including SWAT members who had just provided security for President Bush’s visit, responded to the home and squeezed the children through a first-floor window.
Officers fired a nonlethal round through one of the house’s windows for the sake of causing a distraction, then entered the home and cleared each room methodically. The sweep of the large two-story house took roughly two hours, and the couple was found dead in a bathroom attached to the upstairs master bedroom, Oates said.
The chief would not release details about the shooting, only that a weapon was found and it appeared the man did the shooting.
“This is the kind of tragedy that makes it very, very hard for law enforcement to intercede in,” he said.
Police and the Arapahoe County coroner would not identify the couple involved in the incident, but property records show the home’s recent owners as Jason L. Dotson, 41, and Tracie Lynn Dotson, 39.
Daryl Orr, a publicist for former mobster Henry Hill, an oft-area resident and the inspiration for the motion picture “Goodfellas,” said Hill was in talks with the couple about investing in a Mafia-themed Italian eatery in Denver.
“They seemed to be a really happy couple, and I would not have expected this at all,” Orr said. “They always acted like newlyweds when they were around each other.”
Neighbors said they hardly knew the couple. They said that the family hadn’t lived in the home more than a few months and seemed always on the go, rarely around.
One neighbor, who didn’t want his name used, said he talked to Jason Dotson on occasion and would see the family frequently at Denver Nuggets games. “They really loved basketball,” the neighbor said.
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-820-1190 or mgonzales@denverpost.com
