Late April 2018: 26-year-old Shawn Tyler Stricklin of Ackerman, Mississippi, was found dead in his vehicle off Highway 12 near the Longview community in Oktibbeha County. What first looked like a car wreck was determined to be a homicide after first responders found Stricklin had suffered a fatal gunshot wound. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations took over the case.

Authorities arrested 33-year-old James Dustin Nixon of Starkville within two days and charged him with first-degree murder. According to the investigation, Stricklin had gone to Nixon’s property seeking an ex-girlfriend who was reportedly inside Nixon’s camper; witnesses said she hid in a bathroom when Stricklin arrived. Prosecutors presented evidence that Stricklin was attempting to leave with his car in reverse when he was shot. The defense maintained Nixon acted in self-defense, saying Stricklin had been warned to stay off the property.

Nixon’s first trial in 2022 ended in a mistrial after a previously unavailable toxicology report emerged. A retrial in May 2023 resulted in a conviction for second-degree murder and a 40-year sentence.