This man shot his girlfriend for refusing to abort a pregnancy

By Layo Coker

One day after her son's 3rd birthday, Candace Pickens and her 3-year-old, Zachaeus were  reportedly shot  by the mum's  boyfriend Nathaniel Elijah Dixon

The mum died and the son was shot in the face and was left for dead.Her boyfriend had a violent history that included attempted robbery and allegations of domestic violence against another woman with whom he had a child. 

One of the things Candace Pickens was going through in recent months, relatives said, was a volatile and abusive relationship — one she managed to keep hidden from some of the people who knew her best in and around Asheville, N.C., where she lived.

In addition to Dixon’s extensive criminal history, police think he has possible ties to a Los Angeles street gang.

When Pickens recently discovered that she was pregnant with Dixon’s child, abortion was not an option, she told friends and family members.

She would have a second child, she insisted.

Now, relatives think it was that insistence that may have led to her death.

Her body was found early on the morning of May 12 by a jogger in a park in Asheville. She had been shot in the head at point-blank range, police said — executed.

Beside her, investigators said, was Zachaeus, badly injured, has lost his left eye but is in stable condition.

Dixon, who also lives in Asheville, fled to Columbus, Ohio, where he was arrested last week, authorities said. WLOS reported that Columbus police rescued a 21-year-old female hostage when Dixon was arrested.

The 24-year-old is awaiting extradition back to North Carolina, where he has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury.