On a warm Labor Day evening, September 4, 1989, 11-year-old Cole Neer and his 10-year-old brother, William "Billy" Neer, were riding their bikes through David Douglas Park in Vancouver, Washington. The boys were taking a shortcut home for supper when their path crossed with a man who would irrevocably shatter their lives and terrorize the community.
That man was Westley Allan Dodd, a serial predator who had specifically gone to the large, wooded park that day with the intention of killing.
Dodd, armed with a fish fillet knife and shoelaces, lured the two brothers into a secluded, wooded area off the trail. There, he bound their wrists, tying them to a tree. After sexually assaulting the boys, he stabbed them both repeatedly. Cole, a young boy enjoying a day out with his brother, died at the scene. Billy, though mortally wounded, courageously fought to escape and get help. He managed to run a short distance before Dodd pursued and fatally stabbed him. A passerby found Billy, who was rushed to a nearby hospital but died en route.
The brutal and seemingly random murders of two beloved children left the Vancouver community in a state of shock and fear. A joint task force of local law enforcement agencies was formed to hunt for the killer, but initially, they had few leads. Dodd, meanwhile, began a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the murders he had committed, evading capture for weeks. His reign of terror continued on October 29, when he abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered 4-year-old Lee Iseli in Portland, Oregon, dumping his body near Vancouver Lake.
The break in the case came on November 13, 1989. Dodd attempted to abduct a six-year-old boy from the restroom of a movie theater in the nearby town of Camas, Washington. The boy screamed and was able to break free, and the child's mother's boyfriend chased Dodd, who fled in his car. After his car broke down nearby, the boyfriend, William Graves, managed to detain Dodd until police arrived. In custody, Dodd confessed to the murders of Cole and Billy Neer, as well as Lee Iseli.
A search of Dodd's apartment uncovered horrifying evidence that confirmed his confession, including a detailed diary chronicling his crimes and fantasies, photographs of his victims, and souvenirs he had taken. He was charged with three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder. Against his attorney's advice, Dodd pleaded guilty to all charges. During his trial, he showed no remorse, telling the court that if he were ever released, he would "kill and rape again, and I will enjoy every minute of it." He stated that the system had failed to stop him despite numerous prior arrests for child molestation.
In 1990, a jury sentenced Westley Allan Dodd to death. He waived his automatic appeals, stating he deserved to die and wanted to be executed as quickly as possible to prevent himself from killing again. He chose to be executed by hanging, the same method he had used to kill his last victim, Lee Iseli. On January 5, 1993, Dodd was executed at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, the first legal hanging in the United States since 1965. Family members of his victims were present to witness the execution.
In the years following the murders, the parents of Cole and Billy Neer, Clair and Arlene Neer, along with the father of Lee Iseli, filed a civil lawsuit. They argued that authorities should have kept Dodd behind bars due to his extensive criminal history involving child molestation. The families reached out-of-court settlements with Asotin County and the state of Washington. The case led to legislative changes in Washington, authorizing the indefinite civil commitment of individuals deemed to be "sexually violent predators" after their prison sentences are complete.
