An Unexpected Slaughter

Small Town Murder episode 50 covers Easley, South Carolina, in Pickens County in the north-west of the state, 25 minutes from Greenville. A small part of the town lies in Anderson County, which is where the crime took place. The town has about 20,765 people and grew out of a railroad and textile economy. James notes that it was named for William King Easley, who sat in the secession convention and served as a Confederate major.

The story is about the Dixon family in April 2008. Samuel Andrew 'Andy' Dixon, 46, worked as an electrician for Vulcan Materials and helped with a local youth association. this part of the story is covered for now His second wife, Maritza Hertado, lived in the house with her 19-year-old daughter, Melissa Salazar. Everyone described the household as getting along.

details of the account remain covered until revealed In fact he scored too low on the entrance tests and lied about it. He worked at McDonald's but lost the job, and his girlfriend ended their relationship. Around 10 April 2008 his roommate evicted him after accusing him of stealing a credit card, so he moved back into the family house, sharing his brother's room. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it His father agreed he could stay on condition that he enrolled at Tri-County Technical School to train as an electrician. His best friend, Brantley Creel, whom he met at the career centre, said he never lost his temper and took everything in stride. this part of the story is covered for now

details of the account remain covered until revealed Andy and Taylor had gone to the dump. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it He reloaded, followed Melissa and shot her. this part of the story is covered for now He went outside, shot his father beside the pool, and wounded him again as Andy crawled towards the road. He shot Taylor when the boy ran out the front door, and later shot Taylor in the head at close range inside the house as Taylor begged for help. He then walked to the road, where Andy, on his phone, said 'I love you' and put up his hands. details of the account remain covered until revealed He threw the gun into the woods, took the Ford Explorer and stopped at Spinnaker's Exxon for Propel water and Grizzly snuff. The clerk, Amanda Trip, knew him as a regular and said he was entirely normal. He bought breakfast at Hardee's in Belton using his stepsister's debit card, ate two bites, washed blood from his feet at Creel's, and spent the day riding ATVs.

Meanwhile 911 received several calls from 9:21 a.m. Andy made the first. Neighbours heard about five shots, and one couple reported a man falling from a tree outside Pine Lake Drive. Police arrived about 9:36 a.m. as Andy died. Inside, they found Maritza and Melissa and, around 2 p.m., Taylor. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed It was the first quadruple homicide recorded in Anderson County.

Friends, relatives and neighbours expressed shock. Creel said he did not believe it, and Patricia Dixon said her son had a good heart. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it He said he did not know why he did it and could not stop once he had shot Maritza. A psychiatrist found no mental illness that could support an insanity defence, and he had no drugs or alcohol in his system or any criminal record. On 28 April he appeared by video link before an Anderson County magistrate, and prosecutor Chrissy Adams said she intended to seek the death penalty. She later decided against it, mainly because the victims' relatives from both families opposed it, he had no record and was only 18. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it His lawyer said the question of what made him snap would probably never be answered.

this part of the story is covered for now Andy and Taylor are buried at Robinson Memorial Gardens in Easley.