The state Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a man sentenced to death for the 2006 murders of his cousin and her husband.
Brian Dorsey (photo courtesy; Missouri Department of Corrections)
Brian Dorsey pleaded guilty to murdering Sarah and Benjamin Bonnie in their New Bloomfield home. Those death sentences were upheld in 2010. DNA evidence proved Dorsey also sexually assaulted his cousin after murdering her.
Dorsey argued that DNA evidence that pointed to another suspect in his cousin’s rape was not disclosed to his attorney. He says that evidence could have kept him from being sentenced to death as opposed to life in prison.
He also says his counsel was ineffective, in part for not asking to have a juror removed after learning that juror was Benjamin Bonnie’s supervisor at a muffler shop for six months.
The Supreme Court ruled that Dorsey’s claims about DNA evidence were not properly raised in his motion, and says the lower court got it right in rejecting his claim that his counsel was ineffective.
It upheld the lower court’s decision and has allowed Dorsey’s death sentences to stand.