Autopsy - Dennehy shot twice in head

WACO, Texas -- An autopsy report released Wednesday shows that Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy was shot twice in the side of the head, but does not indicate whether the gun was fired at close range.

Both gunshot wounds were above the right ear about 2 inches apart, the first slightly toward the back of the head and the other toward the front, according to the autopsy by the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas. The first bullet exited Dennehy's forehead above his left eye; the second bullet exited behind his left ear.

The 6-foot-10 Dennehy had been missing about six weeks when his decomposed body was found July 25 in a field near a rock quarry 4 miles south of the Baylor campus.

Carlton Dotson, who played basketball at Baylor last season and lived in Dennehy's apartment a few months, has been charged with murder. Dotson, 21, remains jailed in his home state of Maryland, and an extradition hearing is set for Tuesday.

Dr. Jerry Spencer, Lubbock County's chief medical examiner who is not involved in the Dennehy case, said the first shot likely killed the player.

Spencer said determining how close the pistol was to Dennehy's head when it was fired may be difficult because decomposition likely would mean there was no longer any gunpowder residue.

According to the autopsy report, the drug screen -- which tests for opiates, amphetamines and barbiturates -- was negative. Dennehy had no alcohol in his system, but samples were too decomposed to test for marijuana, according to the autopsy.