Victim was suffocated, stabbed on New Year’s in Columbus. This 1985 case still unsolved

Editor’s note: Details of this story are graphic, and may be difficult for some to read.

On New Year’s Day 1985, an 18-year-old man was found suffocated, stabbed, and tied up with clothing inside a motel on Victory Drive.

Now, nearly 40 years later, the case is one on the list of more than 100 unsolved homicides in the Columbus area spanning several decades, and one of three from 1985.

Anthony Bernard Dixon was born in Columbus on July 8, 1966, was a member of New Mount Zion Baptist Church, and attended Carver High School from 1980 to 1983, according to prior reporting from the Columbus Ledger.

Dixon was found on Jan. 1, 1985, in Room 27 of the Travel Inn Motel on Victory Drive by the owner of the motel who went to clean the room, according to prior Ledger reporting.

The coroner at the time, Donald Kilgore, told the Ledger that Dixon was lying face down on the bed of the motel room with his hands and feet tied, mostly wearing women’s clothing. A pair of false breasts were found on the floor by the bed and the Ledger reported that relatives of Dixon had told Kilgore that Dixon had been dressing as a woman since 1981.

Kilgore told the Ledger that Dixon had suffocated from clothing tied across his chin, mouth and just below his nose.

Dixon had multiple stab wounds to his back, but Kilgore told the Ledger these were superficial and probably inflicted just before Dixon suffocated.

Ledger reporting states that Dixon had been wearing a dress that had been pulled up and a pair of panties that had been pulled to one side though it was not determined at that time if Dixon had been sexually assaulted.

The Ledger reported there was no sign of a struggle in the room, according to Kilgore.

Dixon went by the names of “Lady Dee” and “Miss Ann,” according to Ledger reporting.

The motel owner told the Ledger at the time that Dixon had been staying there since Nov. 20, 1984, and they didn’t know what Dixon did or where he worked.

The Columbus Police Department declined to speak on this case, but anyone with information regarding the homicide can contact the Columbus Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit at 706-225-3161.