For prosecutors, this is their second chance to seek death against a man already convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend. Markeith Demangzlo Loyd, 46, will die in prison for killing pregnant ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon, 24, but jurors decided he should get life without parole. Now he will stand trial in another death penalty case for shooting and killing Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton, 42. You can watch in the player above.
While on the run for killing Dixon, Loyd was spotted at an Orlando Walmart on Jan. 9, 2017. A customer told Clayton, who chased Loyd. Surveillance footage captured the tragic encounter.
“The suspect loops backward while simultaneously drawing a handgun from his waist and taking cover behind one of the concrete pillars,” stated documents. Clayton drew her gun in response, but Loyd allegedly opened fire three times, striking her in the hip. She fell. Loyd allegedly kept firing while she was on the ground, authorities said.
“The suspect now leaves Sergeant Clayton laying on her back and runs to a two-door vehicle parked in the adjacent row and casually leaves the area,” stated documents.
Orange County Deputy First Class Norman Lewis died in a motorcycle crash during the search for Loyd, though Loyd is not charged with this.
In the Dixon murder trial, Loyd testified that he was the victim in all this. He insisted that he killed her in self-defense, facing her and her brother. Prosecutors dismissed that assertion. Though Dixon, who was three months pregnant, pulled a gun on him, she had dropped it before he killed her. Ultimately, he had the opportunity to leave that Dec. 13, 2016 confrontation, but instead set out to kill her, prosecutors said.
#MarkeithLoyd – Prosecutor Ridgway ends the cross-examination with this:
Ridgway: None of this is your fault?
Loyd: No
Ridgway: In fact, you’re really the victim here today, aren’t you?
Loyd: Of course I am
Ridgway: No further questions pic.twitter.com/0MCYoERqOo
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) October 15, 2019
Instead of accepting his role in instigating and taking this confrontation to fatal heights, Loyd took the stand in bewildering testimony about his values and his attitudes toward women he dated. Loyd testified that he lectured Dixon on what she wore, and said he asked her about her credit score.
#MarkeithLoyd – Loyd said when he met Dixon he wasn’t just looking for sex, he wanted a family. He met her for the first time, she came out wearing “booty shorts’, he said Queens don’t dress like that. He said that’s exposing yourself to the world. pic.twitter.com/MaZEmQkeUi
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) October 14, 2019
#MarkeithLoyd – Loyd says he met Sade Dixon through Facebook. In a PM he told her she was cute but, “what’s your credit score?” pic.twitter.com/6XVOAzpcUl
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) October 14, 2019
The defense said in the penalty phrase that Loyd suffered through a childhood abuse from his father, racism, trouble in school, and limited life routes as a teenager. He developed a significant delusional disorder because of his life experiences.
[Booking photo via Orange County Jail]
