An Indiana Uber driver was formally charged Monday with trying to rape one of his female passengers before fatally shooting her in the head.
Francisco Valadez, 29, was initially taken into custody on suspicion of murder after Indianapolis Metro Police said he picked up 30-year-old Chanti Dixon in the early morning of Sep. 8. She was found dead in a wooded area near her apartment the following day.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office formally charged Valadez on Monday with two counts of murder, attempted rape and abuse of a corpse, according to court records reviewed by HuffPost.
Chanti Dixon was found dead after ordering an Uber in the early mornings of Sep. 8. via Facebook
Detectives found Dixon ordered an Uber at around 3:34 a.m. on Sept. 8 for a ride home from work, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by HuffPost. Dixon’s mother told police her daughter had not been heard from since then and reported her missing.
Authorities said they were able to identify Valadez as the Uber driver and interviewed him outside his home, where he was living with his mother.
Valadez would change his story multiple times during his interview with police, according to the affidavit.
At first, he allegedly told police he picked Dixon up with no issue, then heard gunshots in the area soon after dropping her off.
He then claimed an armed man approached his vehicle and attempted to rob Dixon before shooting her in the thigh, according to the affidavit. Valadez allegedly said Dixon threw herself out of the car before he drove off. He claimed he’d cleaned out his car after the incident, but when detectives searched his home, they found bloody towels and clothes, as well as a gun.
Valadez eventually confessed to fatally shooting Dixon, after police pressed him on whether his gun would match the bullet retrieved from Dixon’s corpse, per the affidavit.
“OK, I shot her in the head, it was self-defense,” Valadez allegedly told police.
At first, Valadez allegedly claimed Dixon was angry and had slapped him repeatedly, prompting him to shoot her. Eventually, Valadez changed his story again, claiming he was a virgin and had asked Dixon to take his virginity, according to the affidavit. Valadez said Dixon agreed and they tried to have sex, but he shot her after she made fun of him, according to the affidavit. He then allegedly told police he dragged her dead body out of the car and tried to have sex with it, before eventually leaving it behind.
“I figured I would have another go at it,” Valadez allegedly told police.
Dixon’s mother told police that a family member had found Dixon’s body the day after the shooting by using her Apple Watch to find her phone, according to the affidavit.
Valadez is set to appear in court for a pretrial conference on Nov. 14. An attorney was not listed in his court files.
Denise Dixon-Wilkins, Dixon’s sister, said in a GoFundMe launched to offset funeral expenses that Dixon now leaves behind two children, ages 10 and 13.
“Women, girls, mothers ― they have a right to exist freely in our community without fear of something heinous happening to them,” Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Catherine Cummings told reporters following the body’s discovery . “They have a right to walk, bike, order a rideshare without fearing something bad will happen to them.”
In a statement to HuffPost on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Uber called the incident “atrocious.”
“Our hearts break for Ms. Dixon’s family and loved ones,” the spokesperson said, adding that Uber “will assist Indianapolis police however we can as they continue to investigate.”
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Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website .
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