Homicide Number Eight of 2006: Desaundra Dixon

So I tried to take my vacation early. Things have been fairly quiet crime-wise lately. At least in Tacoma’s city limits. But Monday morning around 2:00am that changed in the 5600 block of South Junett when the longtime boyfriend of Desaundra Dixon shot her once in the chest, killing her. Desaundra was a mother of five, ages 4 to 19. One of her sons called 9-1-1. Her boyfriend waited for the cops and initially was willing to talk to them. Then he asked for a lawyer. 

There was no history of domestic violence between the couple. The motive was unclear, but I figure it’s safe to say she did something that upset the guy. The problem with domestic violence is that it is both largely unreported and largely exaggerated. In Washington State, domestic violence laws require responding officers to arrest somebody even if no crime was committed. I suppose the idea here is to get potentially dangerous people away from each other, but it doesn’t really work. A guy arrested on a domestic violence charge can be out in a matter of hours and if you think he was upset with the woman before, imagine how he feels after being locked up for a few hours. Even the completely innocent aren’t happy after spending the evening locked in a cage.

Then there are restraining orders. These are supposed to protect people, but really making it illegal to contact someone isn’t going to save anyone. Last time I checked it was illegal to murder people too, but it still happens.

And regardless of what sort of precautions society attempts to take to prevent domestic violence, it’s still going to happen. Desaundra Dixon is the latest but far from the last victim of domestic violence. The only real solution is to choose who you live with carefully.

One final note, I’m leaving town this Friday and will be gone for a week. Could you people of Tacoma do me a personal favor and wait to kill people until I get back? Thanks.

- Jack