Sister of woman killed in New London seeks funds for baby
NEW LONDON — The aunt of a child who survived an arson-murder last week plans to take in the baby and is looking for financial help.
Sylvonna White started a GoFundMe fundraiser to get her home ready for the boy, who is 13 months old. Her sister, Shelby Dodson, 23, was killed.
White had raised more than $6,000 of her $8,000 goal as of early Tuesday morning. The money will go toward baby equipment such as a crib, changing table and highchair, she said.
It also will cover the cost of her to travel to Connecticut to pick up the young boy and bring him to her home in Tennessee.
“It is truly heartbreaking to know what happened, but we are all overjoyed that, at least, [his] physical health is okay,” she wrote of the baby on the fundraising page. “He is due to move to his aunt's home soon, but before that happens, the home must be set up to receive a 1-year-old.”
Last Wednesday night, according to New London police, George Dodson fatally bludgeoned his wife with a hammer, set fire to the room and two others in his Sherman Street house and slashed his own throat.
Dodson, a U.S. Navy member, who police say confessed to the crime, said he did it out of jealousy, according to an incident report.
He said they had “opened up our relationship, and she found another man she loved more and I could not stand the thought of it so I killed her,” according to a police report. In addition to using the hammer and setting the room on fire, Dodson told police he also stabbed his wife, the report stated.
The baby was rescued from the burning home and taken to the hospital, but the boy's mother was pronounced dead.
An autopsy shows she died of blunt injuries to the head, a spokesperson at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Monday.
Dodson, a second-class petty officer and nucleartrained electronics technician, faces murder, arson and other charges.
White said on the GoFundMe page that “any contribution you can make is greatly appreciated, as it eases the tension of this already horrible situation.”