Westley Allan Dodd, born July 3, 1961, was an American serial killer. He is known for the 1989 murders of three young boys in Vancouver, Washington. In 1991 Dodd was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death by hanging at Walla Walla state penitentiary (also known as the Washington State Penitentiary). This event occurred on January 5th, 1993 and it was the only legal hanging to occur in the United States since 1965.
Early life
Westley Allan Dodd, the oldest child of Jim and Carol Dodd, claimed he never felt neglected or abused during his childhood though he claimed he couldn’t remember saying his parents saying “I love you” either to him or vice versa. His younger brother Gregory was arrested for the attempted sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl in 2016.
Criminal history
Westley Allan Dodd had his first incident of serial pedophilia when he was 13 years old, and it lasted for 14 years. During that time, he abused around 50 unsuspecting children below the age of 12, some as young as two years. His first victim was his cousin. Westley Allan Dodd’s deviant fantasies became increasingly violent over time and he fantasized about eating the genitals of his victims.
Westley Allan Dodd was a serial killer, who at first molested his victims. Eventually, he turned to murder specifically in cases where he murdered brothers Cole and William Neer. He also tortured his victims before raping and murdering them, as he did to Lee Iseli. Police arrested Mr. Dodd for attempting to abduct a boy from a theater when they found a homemade torture rack in his home that had not been used yet.
Arrest and Trials
In 1989, William (10) and Cole Neer (11) were molested and stabbed in a park in Vancouver. In a separate incident, 4-year-old Lee Iseli was raped and killed. Westley Allan Dodd was later found guilty of the crimes and sentenced to death.
Only 4 years reeled off between the murders and Dodd’s execution. He refused to appeal his case, stating he would like to be executed before he had a chance to escape or murder someone inside the prison walls. While in court he said that if he found a way out of prison then “I’d surely go back to killing kids.”
Westly Allan Dodd was executed by hanging at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla on January 5th, 1993. As per the state’s laws, he had to choose the method of his execution. Two had been given to him – lethal injection or hanging. He said he’d prefer the latter and Washington state law gave him the option. Dodd also wanted his execution televised but the request was denied.
The execution was witnessed by representatives of the families of the three victims, 12 members of local and regional media, and prison officials. The prison doctor pronounced Dodd dead and his body was transported to Seattle for autopsy where it was revealed that Dodd died quickly and probably with little pain. He was cremated and his ashes were turned over to his family.
