A Hocking County man was sentenced to prison for the 2020 murder and dismemberment of a friend, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Wednesday. Michael Thomas Dixon, 41, of Laurelville, was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for fatally shooting James T. Whitaker, 56, in July 2020. Officials say Dixon then faked a suicide note and dismembered and burned Whitaker’s body in an attempt to conceal the crime.
“By murdering and then dismembering his victim in an attempt to evade authorities, this defendant showed a complete disregard for life – it’s fitting that he will now spend the rest of his miserable life in prison,” Yost said.
On May 11, 2021, a Hocking County jury found Dixon guilty of two counts of murder, each with a firearm specification; one count of felonious assault with a firearm specification; seven counts of tampering with evidence; one count of gross abuse of a corpse; and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
The case was investigated by the Hocking County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Crime Scene Unit. The Ohio Attorney General’s Special Prosecution Section prosecuted the case.