In the predawn hours of November 18, 2015, the life of 26-year-old Dorian Haddix, a Black/African American male from Seattle, was tragically cut short. A passing driver discovered his body lying in a roadway in Covington, a city in King County, Washington. First responders arrived to find Haddix bleeding from a gunshot wound and, despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
This discovery marked the beginning of a homicide investigation that would soon uncover a story of a transaction gone fatally wrong.
Dorian, who had attended schools in both Seattle and Kent, was a young man with aspirations of becoming a chef and a poet, even giving himself the moniker "Choice the Poet." His family, including his mother Dawnese Witherspoon and father Andre Haddix, were left to grapple with the sudden and violent loss of a son, brother, and friend. The question of why Dorian was in Covington that morning became a central and agonizing mystery for his loved ones as they sought answers.
The investigation into Dorian's death quickly gained momentum. Detectives from the King County Sheriff's Office learned that the last person to communicate with Dorian was a 19-year-old man who had recently been arrested in connection with a series of burglaries. This individual told investigators that he and an 18-year-old accomplice had arranged to meet Dorian for a "business" deal. The two drove from Renton to Covington for the meeting, which ultimately never materialized.
A significant breakthrough in the case came in the form of video footage. This recording captured the 18-year-old and 19-year-old discussing and seemingly joking about the shooting. Crucially, the video contained details about the location of the murder that only the perpetrator would know, implicating the 18-year-old as the shooter. In early December 2015, SWAT crews and detectives executed a search warrant at a home in Renton and arrested the 18-year-old suspect. He was subsequently booked into the King County Jail with bail set at one million dollars. Despite the compelling evidence against him, the suspect denied knowing Dorian or ever having been to Covington. The case was later highlighted in a "Murder Mystery" segment, indicating that justice for Dorian Haddix was still being sought.
