FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Two confidential informants for a central Indiana police department have been found dead inside trash bags thrown into a Fort Wayne river after being shot, stabbed and strangled. A “known drug dealer” has since been arrested on murder charges.
Christina M. Dixon, 40, and Matthew J. Johnson, 41, were found dead last Friday by Fort Wayne police after their bodies were recovered from a local river.
Court documents filed Tuesday show Dixon and Johnson were working as confidential informants for the Richmond Police Department. The two had given RPD info that led to a drug bust the week before they were murdered.
Police have since arrested 29-year-old Dominique M. Washington on felony murder and kidnapping charges in connection to the deaths. The “known drug dealer” is now being held in the Allen County Jail without bond.
The deaths
Police crews were called around 1 p.m. Friday after volunteers cleaning up the St. Mary’s River on the edge of downtown Fort Wayne found two large trash bags in the water near Guldlin Park. Inside the bags were the bodies of a white adult male and a white adult female.
The Allen County Coroner identified the two victims Tuesday as Dixon and Johnson. Their deaths were ruled as homicides.
Court documents show that officials determined Dixon died by strangulation and suffocation, while Johnson died from a gunshot wound and stab wound.
Detectives learned that the two Richmond residents had been reported missing on Sept. 19 by the Richmond Police Department, one day before their bodies were found.
Police were then able to get cell phone data from both victims, which painted a picture of their last known whereabouts.
Tracking their phones
GPS data from both victims’ cell phones showed that their locations were being tracked up until around 4:45 p.m. on Sept. 19. Police then discovered that Johnson’s last known location was at the Genesis Apartments in Richmond.
Surveillance footage from the apartment complex showed that Johnson arrived at the apartments around 4:19 p.m. on his motorcycle. The next day, a white car is seen pulling into the parking lot and driving away with Johnson’s motorcycle.
Johnson is then seen shaking hands with a Black male dressed in all black, police said. Johnson and the man then get into a gray Dodge Avenger.
Police then interviewed a witness who said that Dixon was at her home around 4:45 p.m. when she received a call from Johnson telling her to come outside. The witness said Dixon then walked through a few yards before saying she “would be back soon” and getting into a silver car.
Soon after, police said both victims’ phones went off network. Detectives were later able to recover the phones after a witness said he found the devices in a trash can near his Richmond residence.
The last action on Johnson’s phone was reportedly adding a new contact named “Nico Bro.”
Investigating ‘Nico’
Detectives then spoke with someone who believed a man named Nico who drove a silver car was possibly involved in Dixon and Johnson’s abduction. They were then able to identify “Nico” as Dominique Washington – a “known drug dealer” in the Richmond area.
Richmond police reportedly told detectives that a partner of Washington’s recently had their home raided and a large amount of narcotics were seized. RPD said Dixon and Johnson were both Confidential Informants (CIs) for them and gave info that led to the recent drug raid.
Detectives contacted a witness who said on Sept. 19 a man named “Rooster” asked him to come to the Genesis Apartment complex to give him a ride. The man said he picked up Rooster and white male later identified as Johnson. He said that he then went home and allowed Rooster to use his car for the rest of the day. The witness later positively identified Washington as Rooster.
Police found that Washington had recently been driving a 2011 white GMC Acadia. They then used license plate readers to track the Acadia, which had reportedly driven from Richmond to Fort Wayne between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Sept. 20.
Conclusion and arrest
Court records show that detectives continued to gather evidence against Washington that showed he had driven between the two cities the day after Dixon and Johnson disappeared. They also reportedly spoke to a witness who said Washington had made her pick up Johnson’s motorcycle from the Genesis Apartments on Sept. 20.
In the end, police concluded that Washington killed the two Confidential Informants before driving to Fort Wayne and getting rid of their bodies.
“Detectives believe that Dominique lured [Johnson] and [Dixon] into [witness]’s vehicle and forced them to turn their phones off,” court docs read. “Detectives believe that Dominique then switched vehicles, killing them along the way, and then dumping the bodies in the St. Mary’s River in Fort Wayne, Indiana.”
Washington has since been arrested and is now being held in the Allen County Jail without bond. He was booked on two counts of felony murder, kidnapping and failure to report the discovery of a body.
Online court records show that four felony murder charges have been filed against Washington in Allen Superior Court 5. An initial hearing in his case is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
Criminal records show \Washington has an extensive arrest history in Wayne County that includes charges for robbery with a deadly weapon, narcotics possession, theft, battery, burglary, criminal recklessness, pointing a firearm and more.
Richmond police did not provide any additional information Tuesday regarding the drug raid mentioned in court documents that preceded the murders, citing an ongoing investigation.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
