A 5-year-old boy first thought to have died from smoke inhalation in a Colorado Springs apartment fire Friday morning instead died from drowning, an autopsy revealed. His mother was arrested Sunday on charges of first-degree murder, police said Sunday night.
Shannon Dodson, 42, was at home with the child, Jude Marray-Gomez, when the fire started on a mattress in a bedroom in the Park Hill Apartments at 4320 E. Pikes Peak Ave.
The mother suffered smoke inhalation, the Colorado Springs Fire Department said.
Public records show the child’s father, Jude Thaddeus Gomez, petitioned for custody in January. A hearing was scheduled for Nov. 15, records show.
Generally a charge of first-degree murder indicates a suspicion of premeditation.
The mattress was extinguished before the fire could spread.
The case remains under investigation. Colorado Springs police asked anyone with information to call Pikes Peak Area Crime Stoppers. at 719-634-7867.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174, jbunch@denverpost.com or
