Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murdering Pregnant Woman and Shooting Her 3-Year-Old Son

Bill Pan
By Bill Pan
July 17, 2019US News
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Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murdering Pregnant Woman and Shooting Her 3-Year-Old Son
A mugshot of Nathaniel Dixon. (Asheville Police Department)

A North Carolina man has been found guilty of murdering his pregnant girlfriend and shooting her 3-year-old son. He will be sentenced to life in prison after prosecutors took the death penalty off the table.

Nathaniel Dixon of Asheville, who was 24 years old at the time, murdered Candice Pickens in May 2016 and attempted to murder her 3-year-old son. As a result the boy lost his eye and suffered traumatic brain injury, but ultimately survived, reported the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Pickens was pregnant when she was killed. Prosecutors alleged Dixon killed Pickens because she would not terminate her pregnancy. Dixon is believed to be the father of her unborn child. Pickens was found dead at an Asheville elementary school playground, with a gunshot wound to her face, WSPA 7News reported.

Dixon fled to Ohio, where police apprehended him shortly after the incident. He was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and malicious maiming, and was found guilty of those charges on June 26, according to Fox Carolina. He was also charged with first-degree murder of an unborn child, and intentional child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury but was not convicted on those counts.

Dixon’s ex-girlfriend, heavily pregnant Tiyquasha Antwonique Simuel, showed up at Dixon’s murder trial on May 31 as a witness, reported Charlotte Observer. She testified in front of jurors that she was with Dixon the night Pickens was shot and killed and that they took an unplanned trip to Ohio together the next day.

On June 12, just two weeks after her testimony against her ex-boyfriend, Simuel was found critically wounded from multiple gunshots near an Asheville apartment complex. She was transported to a local hospital, where the emergency crew managed to save her baby but failed to keep her alive, reported WSPA.

Dixon’s attorneys motioned for a mistrial after the Asheville Police announced the death of Simuel. Although the judge denied the mistrial motion, the death of a witness ultimately rocked the trial process. The Citizen-Times reported that the 12-person jury—a number that is needed for cases involving the death penalty—had to release several of its original members. Two jurors left as they felt their lives were under threat following Simuel’s death; another had suffered a serious medical issue in the family; and another was released because of concerns regarding his attentiveness.

Asheville police have declined to say whether they believe Simuel’s death is a consequence of her participation in the trial, according to the Citizen-Times. The investigation into this incident is ongoing, and no one has been arrested at the time of this publication.

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