Ohio man gets 50 years to life for murdering, dismembering and burning friend, faking suicide note

HOCKING COUNTY, Ohio (TCD) --

An Ohio man was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for murdering and dismembering his friend and then faking a suicide note.

Laurelville resident Michael Thomas Dixon, 41, was sentenced on Wednesday, the Ohio Attorney General's Office announced.

Dixon fatally shot 56-year-old James Whitaker in July 2020, then "faked a suicide note and dismembered and burned Whitaker’s body in an attempt to conceal the crime," the Attorney General's Office said.

Dixon was convicted in May of two counts of murder; one count of felonious assault; 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 jury took less than three hours to deliberate.

Dixon's 19-year-old daughter Melody Dixon pleaded guilty in a plea agreement in May to three counts of evidence-tampering and two counts of obstruction of justice, the Logan Daily News reports.

Melody was sentenced to consecutive three-year sentences for the tampering; and concurrent sentences of one year, and three years for the obstruction, the Daily News reports.

Melody and Michael were reportedly living at Whitaker's cabin rent-free in 2020 before the crime was committed.

Michael Dixon reportedly shot Whitaker, then dismembered and burned the corpse.

Melody Dixon helped clean the crime scene and tampered with two firearms connected to Whitaker’s death, and lied to police investigators.

The Hocking County Sheriff’s Office received a report that Whitaker was missing on the night of July 25, 2020, from the South Bloomingville area. Whitaker's remains were found on July 28 following a search of his residence and property.

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