Man Admits Killing Mother, Stepfather In Thanksgiving 2015 Attack

MARIETTA, GA -- A Woodstock man will serve life in prison after pleading guilty to killing his mother and stepfather in 2015. Dustin Ray Dixon, now 38, pleaded guilty earlier this week to the attack that occurred on Thanksgiving Day 2015. About 7 p.m. that day, Dixon emerged from the basement of his mother’s home on Camden Lake Drive in Acworth. He was angry with his mother and stepfather, and he was armed with a .40 caliber handgun. Dixon shot and killed his stepfather, Michael DeLoach, and his mother, Ellen DeLoach, and he also fired shots at his grandmother and his aunt, who managed to flee the residence and call Cobb Police.

In the years since Dixon’s arrest, several psychiatrists concluded after periodically evaluating him that he was not competent to stand trial. But treatment at Georgia Regional Hospital within the last year successfully restored Dixon’s mental competency, according to Dr. Joseph Browning, who testified during the plea hearing.

“Today was a very sad day for family members in Court,” said Jesse Evans, Chief Assistant District Attorney. “Since Thanksgiving 2015, they have been in a state of grief. We are just thankful that we were at least able to hold this killer accountable for these senseless crimes.”

The two surviving victims, along with other family and friends, attended Monday’s hearing. Some wiped away tears as the facts of the case were stated for the court.

Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark accepted Dixon’s negotiated guilty plea to two counts of malice murder and two counts of aggravated assault, and sentenced him to serve life in prison.