North Carolina, USA. – A 23 year old pregnant woman Candace Pickens was murdered by her abusive boyfriend for refusing to carry out an abortion.
Candace had been working at a restaurant and was also a student at a community college.
Candace was found dead by a jogger in a North Carolina park on May 12.
She had been shot in the face at point-blank range and left for dead alongside her three-year-old son, Zachaeus, who also suffered the same horrific fate. He was rushed to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.
According to authorities, Candace died at the scene.
According to police, Zachaeus witnessed his mother being shot one day after his third birthday, is in stable but critical condition.
The youngster lost his left eye, has a 50 per cent chance of survival, and is suspected to have brain damage, family members said.
Pickens’ relatives claim the expectant mother had a volatile and abusive relationship with her boyfriend, Nathaniel Elijah Dixon, 24, who was also the father of her unborn baby.
Dixon has a violent history that includes attempted robbery and allegations of domestic violence against another woman who he has a child with, according to the Citizen-Times.
Police believe that Dixon has possible ties to a Los Angeles street gang.
Pickens’ family and friends claim that when she found out she was pregnant with Dixon’s child, she was excited and planning to have the baby. He, however, reportedly wanted her to have an abortion.
“He found out she was pregnant and he wanted her to abort the baby,” her aunt Irene Jenny Pickens said.
She would never do that. It wasn’t an option for her, and that’s what sparked the violence.”
After her murder, Dixon fled from Asheville in North Carolina to Columbus, Ohio, where he was arrested last week.
When he was taken into custody, Columbus police reportedly rescued a 21-year-old female hostage.
Authorities said the 24-year-old is currently waiting to be extradited back to North Carolina, where he is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree murder of an unborn child and child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury.
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