An Uber driver confessed to raping and killing a young mom he picked up from work at an Indianapolis strip club, according to cops.
Driver Francisco Valadez, 29, was arrested Tuesday in the gruesome death of Chanti Dixon, 30, who was found the day before with a fatal gunshot wound in a wooded area behind her home, WRTV reported.
“This is disgusting,” Police Chief Chris Bailey said. “It’s disturbing. No one deserves to be treated this way in our community.”
Assistant Chief of Police Catherine Cummings agreed, saying the horrid attack “hits differently” for women.
“Women, girls, mothers … we have a right to exist freely in our community without fear of something heinous happening to them. We have a right to walk, bike, order a ride share without fearing something bad will happen to them,” she said.
Dixon was found in a wooded area behind her house with a fatal gunshot wound, according to court documents. By looking at her phone, detectives learned Valadez gave Dixon a ride home through the Uber app at 3:34 a.m. Monday, and went to his house to question him.
Valadez allegedly gave cops two different stories — before admitting to shooting Dixon in the back of his car, the documents stated.
He told police he picked up Dixon but an armed black man came up to the car and tried to rob her, according to Fox 8.
“[Valadez] added that the suspect shot [Dixon] in the thigh and that she kicked herself out of his car and he fled the scene,” police wrote in court documents. “He also said that he had cleaned the blood out of his car.”
Police also reportedly spoke with Valadez’s mother, who said her son owned a gun that he regularly carried.
Valadez later admitted to sexually assaulting Dixon, during which she insulted his body, causing him to become so enraged that he shot her in the head. After the shooting, he dragged her lifeless body out of his car before trying to have sex with her dead body, the outlet reported.
The victim’s mother, Rise Dixon, remembered her daughter as a fun-loving person and “ball of life.”
“I keep waiting for her to walk through that door, but I know she won’t,” she told WRTV.
“For people out there that’s doing stuff like that man did to my child because you picked up a stripper at work and thought that no one would care. We do. And you can’t do that,” she added.
Dixon had two children, Dashun, 13, and Chianti, 10, according to a GoFundMe set up by her sister to cover her funeral expenses.
Rise hopes her daughter’s legacy will live on — and that people will learn from her story to take precautions when using ride-share apps.
“Don’t let what happened to her diminish what she put out in the world,” Rise Dixon said.
Valadez was arrested on a felony murder charge, though officials said Tuesday more charges can be expected to be filed.
In a statement, Uber confirmed that Valadez has been banned as a driver on the Uber platform.
“Our hearts break for Ms. Dixon’s family and loved ones in the midst of this tragedy,” Uber said. “The details of this act of violence are atrocious and we will assist Indianapolis police however we can as they continue to investigate.”
