On a Saturday in late April of 2018, the life of 26-year-old Shawn Tyler Stricklin, a male resident of Ackerman, Mississippi, was tragically cut short. His body was discovered in his vehicle off Highway 12 near the Longview community in Oktibbeha County. Initially reported as a car wreck, first responders arriving at the scene soon realized it was a homicide. Stricklin had sustained a fatal gunshot wound.
The investigation was quickly handed over to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations.
Within two days of the discovery of Stricklin's body, authorities made an arrest. James Dustin Nixon, 33, of Starkville, was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. The investigation revealed that Stricklin had gone to Nixon's property on the day of the incident looking for his ex-girlfriend, who was reportedly at Nixon's camper. Testimonies during the subsequent trial indicated that the woman hid in a bathroom when Stricklin arrived. Evidence presented by the prosecution suggested that Stricklin was attempting to leave the property, with his car in reverse, at the time he was shot.
The path to justice was not a swift one. Dustin Nixon's first trial in 2022 ended in a mistrial when a toxicology report that had not been previously available to either the prosecution or the defense surfaced during the proceedings. A new trial was set, and in May 2023, an Oktibbeha County jury deliberated for about an hour before finding Nixon guilty of second-degree murder. The defense had argued that Nixon acted in self-defense, claiming Stricklin had been warned to stay off the property. Following the conviction, Dustin Nixon was sentenced to the maximum of 40 years in prison, bringing a legal conclusion to a case that had spanned five years.
