‘An evil act’: Rideshare driver arrested in connection with death of missing woman on near southeast side

INDIANAPOLIS – Police arrested a rideshare driver in connection with the case of a missing woman who was found dead on the near southeast side.

Homicide detectives took 29-year-old Francisco Valadez into custody on Tuesday morning. Jail records show he was booked on a preliminary murder charge.

On Monday, officers with IMPD’s Southeast District were dispatched to the 1800 block of Wagner Lane after a woman was found dead in a wooded area. The Marion County Coroner’s Office identified her as 30-year-old Chanti Dixon and ruled her death a homicide.

Dixon used an app to call for a rideshare driver around 3:30 a.m. Sunday. No one heard from her after the driver picked her up, police said. A missing persons report was filed Monday morning, and Dixon’s body was discovered around 1 p.m. that day.

Police said their investigation revealed that Dixon had been shot.

“This is disgusting, it’s disturbing,” said IMPD Chief Chris Bailey during a Tuesday afternoon news conference. “No one deserves to be treated this way in our community and I am so sorry to her family that we’re here today.”

Detectives, with help from the community, identified Valadez as a person of interest. Information from the app Dixon used to summon a rideshare driver helped lead them to the suspect; Valadez was that driver, police said.

After police interviewed Valadez, he was arrested on a murder charge. Bailey didn’t disclose a motive behind the killing and said additional information would be made available in the probable cause affidavit.

“This is just disgusting all around and it did not have to happen. This is a family that’s been ripped apart,” Bailey said. “This woman is gone from the world unnecessarily by an evil act, and I’m glad that we were able to find this individual as quickly as we did so that he didn’t have an opportunity to perpetuate violence further in our community.”

Bailey indicated that more charges were forthcoming in the case and stressed that the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office would make the final charging decision.

“Women, girls, mothers…they have a right to exist freely in our community without fear of something heinous happening to them,” said Assistant Chief Catherine Cummings. “They have a right to walk, bike, order a rideshare without fearing something bad will happen to them.”

Cummings and Bailey said the crime appeared to be isolated in nature, adding that using a rideshare app is generally safe. They did advocate that riders share their location with people they know and ask a driver to pull over if something feels wrong.

Bailey said investigators wanted to know if any other members of the public had any interaction with Valadez as a rideshare driver or in any other capacity. He urged people to contact the IMPD Homicide Office at (317) 327-3475 or Crime Stoppers at (317) 262-TIPS (8477).

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