ORLANDO, Fla. – A recently released arrest warrant for suspect Markeith Loyd sheds light on the night police said he fatally gunned down his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, outside of her family's Pine Hills home.
The 24-year-old mother had moved back in with her parents on Dec. 10, three days before she was fatally shot outside their home on Dec. 13. She didn't tell her family why she needed to move back in, but she did tell them that she had gotten into a physical altercation with Loyd. During that fight, Loyd bit Dixon on the back, causing her to have to go to the doctor to get a tetanus shot, the warrant said.
Timeline: How the manhunt and capture of Markeith Loyd unfolded
Dixon and Loyd had been dating for three months before her death. During that time, Loyd had met Dixon's family multiple times and had dinner with them. Dixon was about two months pregnant with Loyd's baby, her family said.
Dixon was eating dinner with her family before 9 p.m. Dec. 13 when she got a call on her cellphone and stepped outside. Dixon's brothers, Dominique Daniels and Ronald Stewart, heard arguing, so Stewart went to check on his sister.
Daniels and his mother, Stephanie Dixon-Daniels, heard gunshots and opened the front door to find Dixon and Stewart lying on the ground with gunshot wounds, according to the arrest warrant.
Loyd shot his gun toward Daniels and Dixon-Daniels as he was running to his 1992 red Buick Regal, which was parked on the street, deputies said. Daniels pushed his mother inside to safety as he tried to render first aid to his brother and sister. Neither Daniels nor Dixon-Daniels were shot.
Dixon was pronounced dead at 9:16 p.m., 13 minutes after 911 was called. Her unborn child also died. Stewart was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition with gunshot wounds in his chest, right thigh and left thigh. Stewart is undergoing physical therapy as he continues to recover.
Detectives said they found 11 .40 caliber shell casings strewn from the front lawn to the street where Daniels and Dixon-Daniels said Loyd shot at them. A .9 mm handgun was also found at the scene, but it hadn't been fired.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office charged Loyd with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and one count of attempted murder in relation to the Dec. 13 incident. The warrant originally said Loyd would be charged with killing of an unborn child by injury to the mother, but that charge was upgraded to first-degree murder, deputies said.
Loyd evaded arrest for weeks after Dixon's shooting death, authorities said. A person who knew Loyd was wanted on a murder charge notified Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton that he was at a Walmart on John Young Parkway the morning of Jan. 9.
When she approached him, Loyd fatally shot her and then fled the area, authorities said. A massive manhunt was launched and Loyd was arrested nine days later. He was found armed with guns and wearing body armor, hiding in an abandoned home in Carver Shores.
Orange County Deputy Norman Lewis also died during the manhunt. Lewis was aiding in the search a few hours after Clayton was shot when he was fatally struck by another vehicle while on his service motorcycle.
The Orlando Police Department has not yet filed charges in connection with Clayton's death.
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