Monday [July 20, 2016], an 18-year old Georgia woman accepted a plea deal just as her trial was set to begin in the shooting death of a gamer attempting to sell his PlayStation 4 through Craigslist.
It was one evening in September 2014 that Daniel Zeitz, who had placed the gaming console on sale for $280 dollars, was to meet a potential buyer in the parking lot of his apartment complex to complete a deal.
As he approached the car, the buyer, Nathaniel Vivian was in the driver’s seat, his girlfriend in the passenger’s seat, and a baby was strapped in the back. When Vivian attempted to yank the Play Station from Zeitz’s hands, a struggled ensued
Before anyone had the chance to give in, the buyer’s girlfriend, a then 16-year old Kayla Dixon reached between her legs, revealing a .25 caliber handgun, and shot at Zeitz in front of her one-year old child in the backseat. The bullet pierced through Nathaniel Vivian’s hand and fatally entered Daniel Zeitz’s chest.
The pair attempted to go to the nearby Northside Hospital to have Vivian’s hand looked at, claiming they were victims of a robbery. They soon confessed to their crime and were arrested there. The young child was turned over to family members.
“I would trade anything, almost anything, to bring Daniel back. But I know I can’t,” Dixon said to Zeitz’s family. “I know he had plans. I wish I could tell him I’m so, so sorry that this happened, but I can’t.”
According to David Lapides, a detective in the case, the pair had premeditated the robbery in advance
“There were numerous text messages between Dixon and Vivian discussing plans to rob someone,” said Lapides. “They discussed getting the address. How they wanted to do it — come at him with the gun (or) surprise him and catch him when he came outside. Go inside the apartment. These messages went back and forth for a while.”
The victim’s mother, Patty Zeitz expressed to local media outlet, WSB-TV, that, initially, she had trouble accepting Kayla Dixon’s apology.
“At first I didn’t want to accept her apology. I thought her apology today was very heartfelt and I feel like she is truly sorry for what happened,” she told reporter Mike Petchenik. “It’s just a crime that young people can get caught in these situations because of the examples they’d had in their lives.”
Nathaniel Dixon
Nathaniel Vivian is scheduled to be charged later this year, and WSB-TV reports that Dizon’s attorney has told the judge that she will testify if necessary.
Daniel Zeitz would have been 30 years old next month.
