Horror Unleashed: Self-Proclaimed ‘Serial Killer’ Who Compared Himself to Michael Myers Sentenced to 261 Years in Prison
In a chilling case that reads like the script of a horror film, a Memphis man who proudly called himself a “serial killer” has been sentenced to a staggering 261 years behind bars. Joshua Dotson, 25, who once compared himself to the infamous slasher villain Michael Myers, will now spend the rest of his life locked away for a series of brutal murders that spanned nearly a year.
Already serving 102 years for the cold-blooded murder of his pregnant girlfriend, Dotson has now been handed an additional 159 years for the slayings of three more victims—Divieon Parker, Renita Bennett, and Reginald Anderson. The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office confirmed his sentencing on Friday, Feb. 14, sealing his fate as one of Tennessee’s most ruthless killers.
Dotson’s rampage began on Nov. 19, 2019, when Parker was found dead from gunshot wounds. The bloodshed continued into 2020 when, on May 24, Bennett and Anderson were gunned down in cold blood. Then, on June 12, 2020, Dotson’s own girlfriend, 19-year-old Jamesha Covson, became his next victim. Covson, pregnant at the time, was shot outside a home on Quinn Avenue in Memphis after an argument turned deadly. Despite being rushed to the hospital, both she and her unborn child succumbed to their injuries.
Dotson, who fled the scene that night, was later apprehended in Nashville by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. During his trial for Covson’s murder, he made a disturbing declaration—calling himself a “serial killer” and likening himself to the relentless, masked murderer from the Halloween franchise.
With the latest sentencing, prosecutors are satisfied that justice has been served. “After five years, we are pleased to finally have justice for Dotson’s multiple victims,” said Shelby County prosecutor Regina Lucreziano. “His sentences, both from the guilty verdict after a trial and these two pleas today, amount to 261 years in prison. While no amount of time in prison will bring the victims back to their loved ones, we are content that he will never be a threat to our community again.”
Though Dotson may have envisioned himself as an unstoppable force of terror, his reign of horror is over. Now, he faces a fate even the most infamous horror villains can’t escape—life in a prison cell, with no chance of ever walking free again.
