People v. Dixon CA2/8

FACTS

The Discovery of the Victim’s Body On May 1, 2012, Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) officers responded to a triplex residential building on Ellis Street in Long Beach after an anonymous 9-1-1 call. Dixon lived in one of the apartments at the property. A Chrysler PT Cruiser registered to Monique Burton was parked near the property. Over the course of ensuing events, LBPD Detective Mark McGuire obtained a search warrant, and officers broke through the front door of Dixon’s apartment. Inside the apartment the officers found the body of a deceased woman, later identified as Burton.2 Officers also found a set of car keys and a disassembled cell phone on the kitchen counter. There were cleaning products and construction tools in the kitchen. There was also a broken dinner tray, blood evidence, blood-stained clothing in two trash bags, a broken belt, and a broken electrical cord inside the apartment. Dixon was not present at that scene.

1 All further undesignated section references are to the Penal Code. 2 An autopsy revealed that Burton died by strangulation. Injuries to her face and neck were consistent with being strangled while faced down on the floor and someone being on…