During tonight’s episode of Dateline NBC titled “In Cold Blood,” Andrea Canning investigates the murder of Kim Dorsey and the circumstances leading up to it. The episode will include interviews with Kim’s husband, Derrick Dorsey, Detective T.K. Waters and more.
Before her death, Dorsey lived what most people may think was an idyllic life in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband, Derrick Dorsey, who worked as a firefighter. Kim Dorsey owned her own construction business and worked as the Director of Training for the Quality Assurance Department of Inspection Depot.
According to her obituary, Kim Dorsey was gracious and caring, had three children: Dexter, Gracie and Duncan, and loved her miniature snauzers.
Here’s what you should know about Kim Dorsey’s Murder:
1. Her Husband Found Her Body After Working a 24 Hour Shift
No wonder he fell for her. And boy, did he fall… #Dateline tonight at 9/8c.
On the evening of October 28, 2012, Derrick Dorsey returned home after working a 24-hour shift. When he walked inside, he found Kim Dorsey dead on their bedroom floor. Her hands were tied and she had been badly beaten.
“I saw my wife lying face down on the floor in the carpet. I saw blood and zip ties on her wrists. I thought he was my friend,” Derrick Dorsey told Jacksonville.com.
According to News 4 Jax, her body was already stiff with rigor mortis. That meant that Kim Dorsey had died the previous day.
The Dorseys had been married for years and had three children together.
2. Police Originally Believed the Murder Was a Robbery Gone Wrong
Detectives found a horrific crime scene, with three different weapons… @CanningAndrea has all the details Friday on #Dateline at 9/8c.
At first, because the home had been ransacked and a few items were missing, investigators believed that the murder could have been the result of a robbery gone wrong.
They had no leads and no physical evidence at the time, though, so the case went cold.
The detectives received an anonymous tip saying that Lance Kirkpatrick had admitted to killing Kim Dorsey, which matched DNA that investigators found inside the victim. Kirkpatrick was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and rape.
3. Lance Eugene Kirkpatrick Said He and Dorsey Had Consensual Sex & He Accidentally Killed Her
Prosecutors alleged that Lance Eugene Kirkpatrick knew the Dorseys and broke into their home, raped and murdered Kim Dorsey while her husband was at work. They allege that he used a pool cue and a knife to kill her.
Defense lawyers argued that Kim Dorsey and Kirkpatrick had a sexual relationship prior to her murder and they had a fight that led to her death, claiming that it was not premeditated murder.
The defense was arguing for a manslaughter charge but was ultimately unsuccessful.
4. Prosecutors Argued that The Murder Was Premeditated
According to The Florida Times-Union, prosecutors made the argument that Kirkpatrick beat Kim Dorsey with a pool cue, raped her, tied her up and then slit her throat.
The defense, however, argued that he and Kim Dorsey had consensual sex on the day of her death and had argued that an argument escalated to murder, meaning that it would be a crime of passion rather than premeditated murder.
“She never would have found Lance Kirkpatrick appealing, physically or in any other way,” said Assistant State Attorney Patricia Dobson during closing statements when prosecutors ridiculed the idea that Kim Dorsey and Kirpatrick could have been lovers.
5. Kirkpatrick Is Serving Life in Prison
Friday on #Dateline at 9/8c…
The jury and judge found Kirkpatrick guilty of first-degree murder. In April 2015, he was sentenced to three life sentences without the possibility of parole.
One life sentence was for the rape of Kim Dorsey, one for her murder, and another for robbing the Dorsey’s home.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Lance Kirkpatrick is currently serving life in prison. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced on May 15, 2015.
In an interview after the sentencing, Derrick Dorsey said that he was disappointed with the life sentence and had wanted the death penalty imposed in the case.
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