David Thomas Dawson

David Thomas Dawson (October 20, 1957 – August 11, 2006) was a convicted murderer. He was born in San Diego, California and executed at Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, Montana.

The crime

Dawson broke into a family's Billings, Montana, motel room on April 18, 1986. He forced the Rodstein family to go to his room at the same motel, which was located directly next door to their own room. He bound the family of four with tape, gagged them, and took their money. Over the next two days, Dawson strangled three of the four family members: 39-year-old David Rodstein, his wife 39-year-old Monica, and their 11-year-old son Andrew. Their 15-year-old daughter Amy was found alive in Dawson's motel room two days after the murders.

Sentencing and execution

The trial for Dawson came to a close in February 1987. The jury deliberated about 14 hours and returned with guilty verdicts for three counts of deliberate homicide, four guilty verdicts for kidnapping each member of the Rodstein family, and a guilty verdict for robbery. Dawson waived the ability to appeal his conviction and sentence.

Dawson's last meal consisted of two double cheeseburgers, two large servings of French fries, half a gallon of vanilla fudge ripple ice cream, and two bottles of Dr Pepper. When asked if he had any last words, Dawson said "No." He was executed by lethal injection on August 11, 2006 under the authority of the state of Montana, the first execution in Montana in more than eight years.

See also

General references
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