BENSON – The NC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has released an autopsy report on a 50 year-old Benson man shot and killed inside his home. Kenneth Wayne Dawson was allegedly gunned down by his own son inside the family home on Highway 242 North, on March 29.
Kenneth Jake Dawson, 20, was arrested at the scene and charged with murder. He was later charged with manufacturing marijuana.
According to the autopsy, Kenneth Wayne Dawson was shot 11 times at close range with a .22 caliber handgun. His cause of death was listed as “multiple gunshot wounds” and the manner of death was classified as a “homicide” in the report.
According to a preliminary summary of circumstances included in the report, “The police advised that the son had been communicating with the grandmother and saying some unkind words. The decedent had been told of this then started to get onto the son verbally. The son didn’t like that the father was getting onto him send (sp) a text to his mother the decedents wife that if decedent(dad) didn’t stop he was “going to kill him”… The police advised that the decedent had gone outside and when he returned into the house the son opened fire on the decedent and struck him multiple times from close range,” the report stated.
“The police advised that the wife was close by in the house and heard the shots and ran to check to see what had just happened. The police advised that when (sp) she encountered was her son holding a gun and she didn’t feel safe to check on the decedent until her son put the gun down. The wife advised that she was on the phone with 911 when all this was going on.”
“The wife advised that once her son put the gun down, she was (able) to check on the decedent and found that he was dead since she was a nurse. The first responders along with police made entry into the house to secure and allow the decedent to be checked. The decedent was pronounced dead at 18:59 (6:59pm). The police on the scene noted a growing field of marijuana, with the police unsure of who or what it was used for other than they were told that it was used for the son, since he had autism to try and help calm him down,” the medical examiners preliminary report stated.
According to a search warrant obtained by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office on the night of the fatal shooting, “Deputies learned from Kenneth Jake Dawson through spontaneous utterances at the scene that an argument between him and his father, Kenneth Wayne Dawson, occurred over marijuana inside the residence. Deputies, during a protective sweep of the residence, found ladders with grow lights mounted to them consistent with an indoor marijuana grow operation.”
Several items were seized from the residence including a Waither P22 .22 caliber pistol, seven fired cartridge casings, one unfired bullet, a Columbia hat with an American flag and fish design, marijuana plants, and drug paraphernalia.
Kenneth Jake Dawson remains in the Johnston County Detention Center being held without bond.
One thing bout them pale ppl yall don’t gaf 😭💀yall gone murder yall own blood without a remorse in the world u can look at him and tell he ONE OF THEM ONES 🤣 should of just left em alone
Pale ppl? Now what do you mean by this? Let me guess what color crayon you are.
that any different from the non pale ppl that kill indiscriminately the ppl of their own color? Why not just say bad ppl exist in all colors and they all have no remorse?
Period! It’s very sad!!
Potential jurors don’t need to have all of this out before the trial.
Also marijuana just needs to be legal in every state. Research why it was deemed illegal and bad after so many years of being used for various ailments for centuries….
Oh we gone talk about white people doings? Don’t get me started.
Leighlah they always tell the news and release the details.
He wasn’t whooped or told no as a child.
My bible tells me not to judge. Why do people think they need to be so mean and angry when this horrific event occurred. You should be offering prayers, not judgment and sarcasm.
Unfortunately, someone with autism can have a very difficult time controlling emotions. I have no clue where he was on the spectrum, but I know mom and dad knew. I don’t know that having any firearms in a home with someone who could be volatile was the best idea. I can assure you this wasn’t the first time he had been violent. If you know anything about autism, this is probably something that could happen with anyone that has a moderate to severe form.