In a tragic turn of events, a planned sale of a video game console through Craigslist ended in the death of 28-year-old Daniel John Zeitz in Sandy Springs, Georgia. On September 12, 2014, Zeitz had arranged to sell his PlayStation 4 to a couple he had connected with online. However, the meeting in the parking lot of his apartment complex was not a simple transaction, but a premeditated robbery that would ultimately cost him his life.
The individuals who responded to the advertisement
were Nathaniel Vivian and his then 16-year-old girlfriend, Kayla Dixon. The couple had planned to steal the gaming system from Zeitz. During the encounter, a struggle ensued over the PlayStation 4. As Vivian, seated in the driver's seat of their car, wrestled with Zeitz who was standing outside, Dixon fired a single shot from a. 25 caliber pistol. Tragically, the bullet passed through Vivian's hand and struck Zeitz in the chest, proving to be a fatal wound. In a chilling detail, Dixon's 16-month-old child was in the backseat of the car throughout the entire incident.
The investigation quickly led to Vivian and Dixon. Shortly after the shooting, Vivian sought treatment for a gunshot wound to his hand at a local hospital. His initial claim of being a robbery victim quickly unraveled as detectives uncovered inconsistencies in his and Dixon's stories. Within hours, they were identified as the primary suspects in Zeitz's murder, and the. 25 caliber pistol used in the crime was discovered in their vehicle at the hospital.
In June 2016, Kayla Dixon, then 18, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and other charges. She was sentenced to 40 years in prison for her role in the killing. Two months later, in August 2016, a jury found Nathaniel Vivian guilty of felony murder, armed robbery, and several other charges. Though he was found not guilty of malice murder, he was sentenced to life in prison for his part in the deadly robbery. During the legal proceedings, Vivian appealed his conviction, but it was ultimately upheld. The parents of Daniel Zeitz expressed their relief that both individuals involved in their son's death were held accountable for their actions.
