April 6
January 28, 2008
GRAND RAPIDS - Attorney General Mike Cox and Kent County Sheriff
Larry Stelma announced today the arrest of Timothy Dawson of Kerrville, Texas,
for the First-Degree Premeditated Murder of his then wife, Julia Dawson.
"Julia Dawson was killed in December 2004. Her family has waited patiently for
her killer to be brought to justice," said Cox. "His arrest is an important step
forward so that justice will be served."
"This has been a very long and complex investigation. I would like to thank all
of the numerous law enforcement agencies and officials who participated. It is
because of their hard work and perseverance that we're able to begin bringing
closure to this case," said Sheriff Stelma.
Kent County Sheriff's Detectives and Sparta Police arrested Timothy Dawson, 31,
in Kerrville, Texas, this weekend. Dawson is being held in the Kerr County Jail
pending his extradition back to Michigan. Once returned to Michigan, he will
face a preliminary examination before the Honorable Steven Servaas in the 63rd
District Court in Rockford. If convicted, Dawson faces life in prison.
Dawson reported his wife missing from their Sparta, Michigan, home on December
12, 2004. Her nude body was found 22 days later next to a rural county road in
Montcalm County. Her death was caused by strangulation. It is alleged that
Dawson killed his wife in the family home and then dumped her body to make it
look as though she was abducted and killed. Dawson moved to Texas with the
couple's two-year-old son in 2006. He has since remarried.
This case is the latest assigned to the Attorney General's Office of Special
Investigations, formed by Cox in 2003 to investigate and prosecute public
corruption cases and cold case homicides. The unit has conducted more than 50
public corruption investigations; has convicted serial killers Coral Watts and
John Rodney McRae; and has succeeded in numerous cold case convictions, most
recently in the Janet Chandler murder trial.
A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent
unless proven guilty beyond a reasonably doubt.
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