Nathaniel Dickson

Background

Nathaniel Casey Dickson was 20 years old when he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole on September 21, 2009. He had admitted gunning down four members of his family more than a year earlier without any real motive.

The case involved the deaths of his father, Andy Dickson; his 14-year-old brother, Taylor; his stepsister, Jiliam Salazar (also spelled Jilian Melisa Salazar); and his stepmother, Maritza Hurtado Dickson (also spelled Maritza Hurtado).

Nathan Dickson’s mother was Patricia Dickson. Other relatives mentioned included an uncle and another stepsister standing in court, and an additional named step uncle: Oswaldo Hurtado.

The offence

Dickson pleaded guilty to the deaths of his father, Andy Dickson; his 14-year-old brother, Taylor; his stepsister, Jiliam Salazar; and his stepmother, Maritza Hurtado Dickson. The killings were described as the deaths of four family members.

In his confession, Dickson described:

• A disagreement around 2 a.m. that Saturday after he came in too late.
• Waking after a “fitful” night of sleep, going to his brother’s closet for some clothes, and finding a 12-gauge shotgun his brother used to hunt squirrels.
• Picking up the gun, loading it, and firing one round that killed his stepmother.
• As his stepsister ran to the kitchen, following her and shooting her in the laundry room.
• Finding Taylor, knocking his brother out, then coming back later and shooting him in the head as Taylor cried for help.
• Reloading the shotgun five times in total.
• Stalking his father and shooting him several times, striking a final blow as his father called 911 for help.
• His father “rolled over and told me ‘I love you’ before I took my last shot at him.”
• Leaving the house and driving to Belton, spending the day riding four-wheelers with a friend, and not mentioning what had happened in his home just hours before.

Investigation

Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and investigators described the case as unusual because of Dickson’s apparent lack of motive.

Chrissy Adams said investigators identified incidents in the weeks before the slayings that hinted at trouble, but “Nothing really rises to the level of explaining why this happened that day.” She characterized it as a family that “loved each other.”

Authorities tested Dickson after the slayings and found that he was not drunk nor was he under the influence of any drug when he shot his family.

A Greenville psychiatrist, Robert Richards, testified for the defense, and said he could not find evidence of a mental illness that would give attorneys grounds for an insanity defense.

Anderson County Deputy Coroner Don McCown described the deaths as shotgun shootings, with:

• The father shot outside, while running away from the house.
• The step-sister found in the laundry room.
• McCown not specifying where the other two were found.
• Two males having multiple wounds from a shotgun, and the women dying of a single shot.
• Authorities continuing to investigate the women’s bodies.

Autopsies completed on Monday determined where the four were shot, how many times, and with what kind of weapon.

Arrest

The hearing was described as the end of a case that began April 26, 2008.

Dickson was arrested hours after the killings. He had been spending the time before police found him riding four-wheelers with a friend.

He arrived at Creel’s home at about 10 a.m., barely an hour after his family was killed, before going to Hardee’s for breakfast and then riding four-wheelers for the rest of the day.

Deputies separated Dickson from Brantley Creel after deputies arrived, and it was the last time Creel saw him other than court.

Trial

Dickson appeared before Anderson County Magistrate James Cox about 5:30 p.m. Sunday via closed circuit television. Dickson answered briefly to questions about where he lived, his full name, and when asked whether he understood the charges against him, he said: “Yes.”

James Cox said Dickson told authorities what he did but did not give a motive, and Dickson said so but “he can’t say why he did it.”

A bond hearing was described as a next step, which may have been scheduled sometime in May.

Sentencing

Nathan Dickson pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility for parole, on September 21, 2009.

Judge Cordell Maddox made remarks at sentencing: “In my nine years, this is the most unexplainable and despicable things I have ever seen in my courtroom,” Maddox said, looking at Dickson. “Your brother and your stepsister — their unlimited potential is gone and wasted.”

Maddox also said: “It bothers me that you can’t even tell me why.”

Dickson remained silent as his uncle and another stepsister stood in court, tears in their eyes, and as his mother, Patricia Dickson, sobbed in the courtroom.

Dickson said: “Thank you for accepting my plea, and I apologize to the families,”

The solicitor for the 10th Judicial Circuit, Chrissy Adams, stated that the Dickson and Hurtado families both argued against pushing for the death penalty in the case, and she said the families thought a lifelong jail sentence would be more of a punishment to Dixon than even a death sentence.

Nadine Salazar spoke as she stared at her stepbrother:

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

The case ended with Dickson’s plea of guilty and his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole on September 21, 2009.

Aftermath

Adams said she decided not to pursue the death penalty because the victims’ relatives were strongly opposed to it, and because Dickson had no criminal record and was 18 at the time of the murders.

Tavernier stated: “This kicks at your gut because this was a good family,” Tavernier said. “Nathan was a good kid and we don’t know what made him snap."

After sentencing, Tavernier said: “The question that will go unanswered - what was it that caused him to snap?” Tavernier said. “We'll probably never know.”

Dickson apologised after pleading guilty.

Timeline

• 8 a.m. until 9 a.m. — Authorities believed sometime within the hour all four victims were fatally shot.
• 9:10 a.m. — Neighbors, Don and Shelia Dilelio, heard the first of five shots fired near their Pine Lake Drive home.
• 9:17 a.m. — Brantley Creel, 19, received a call from Nathan Dickson asking if they could go riding on Creel’s four-wheelers; Dickson said nothing about anything being wrong.
• 9:21 a.m. — Several calls came into 911 dispatchers; Andy Dickson may have made the first call to 911.
• 9:36 a.m. — Anderson County Sheriff’s deputies arrived; Andy Dickson was found outside still breathing; deputies checked the Dickson home, found two more victims, and secured the house.
• Saturday morning — Creel, Nathan Dickson, and Creel’s girlfriend went to Hardee’s in Belton for breakfast.
• Saturday afternoon — Creel and Nathan Dickson spent several hours riding four-wheelers somewhere in Belton.
• Around 2 p.m. — Anderson County Sheriff David Crenshaw announced deputies had found a fourth victim in the laundry room.
• Around 3 p.m. — Sheriff Crenshaw confirmed deputies were looking for Nathan Dickson as a “person of interest.”
• 7:30 p.m. — Sheriff deputies rode past Creel’s grandparents’ home on Calhoun Road in Belton; James “Moose” Philyaw asked deputies what was going on.
• 7:30 p.m. — Philyaw called his grandson and gave an excuse to get them back to the house; deputies took Dickson into custody at 8 p.m.
• 11 p.m. — Sheriff Crenshaw held a news conference giving names of the victims and saying Dickson would be charged with murder in all four shootings.
• Sunday — Arraignment hearing was held for Nathan Dickson; he was held at Anderson County Detention Center.
• Monday — Autopsies showed shotgun used in the slayings.

Other details

People and relationships

• Nathan Dickson’s father was Samuel Andrew Dickson, 46, and also referred to as Andy Dickson.
• Nathan Dickson’s brother was Taylor Alex Dickson, 14.
• Nathan Dickson’s stepmother was Maritza Hurtado, 46, and also referred to as Maritza Hurtado Dickson.
• Nathan Dickson’s stepsister was Melissa Jiliam Salazar (also spelled Jilian Melisa Salazar), 19, and also referred to as Jiliam Salazar.
• Patricia Dickson was Nathan’s mother and sat on the floor during the magistrate hearing, screaming and wailing.
• Brantley Creel was Nathan’s friend; Creel was 19.
• Creel’s girlfriend was Brittaney Frady.
• James “Moose” Philyaw was Creel’s grandfather.
• Amanda Tripp was a clerk at Spinnakers Exxon.
• Susann Griffin was an Anderson County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.
• Don McCown was an Anderson County deputy coroner.
• Don and Shelia Dilelio were neighbors.
• David Crenshaw was the sheriff mentioned during the investigation.
• James Cox was the magistrate.
• Chrissy Adams was the solicitor for the 10th Judicial Circuit.
• Kurt Tavernier was a defense attorney.
• Andy Potter was a defense attorney mentioned alongside Kurt Tavernier.
• Robert Richards was a Greenville psychiatrist who testified for the defense.
• Samuel Andrew Dickson was described as making the first 911 call.

Locations

• The family home was described as on Pine Lake Drive in Easley.
• Pine Lake Estates was named as the location of the home.
• A specific address of 153 Pine Lake Drive was mentioned.
• Belton was mentioned as the place Dickson drove to after the killings and where he spent the day riding four-wheelers.
• Spinnakers Exxon was mentioned as a store where Dickson bought items.
• Hardee’s was mentioned as a place Dickson went for breakfast.
• Ingles grocery store was mentioned as a place Dickson and Creel bought steaks to grill.
• Calhoun Road in Belton was mentioned as where Creel lives with his grandfather, James “Moose” Philyaw.
• The laundry room and the laundry room location in the home were mentioned.
• A woods area was mentioned as the place Dickson threw the gun into.

Victim injuries and findings

• Authorities described that Dickson’s father was shot outside while running away.
• The step-sister was found in the laundry room.
• It was described that the two males had multiple shotgun wounds and the women died of a single shot.
• The father was described as being shot in their back yard, then again at the edge of the front yard after Dickson went to the bedroom to get another shell.

Confession details and quotations

Dickson’s statement included: “I don’t know why I killed my family today,” Dickson said in the statement. “Once I loaded that shotgun and shot Maritza, I could not stop and I did not stop until I shot them all. It hurts inside and I really can’t believe it’s real. I am concerned how all of this may affect my enlistment in the Marine Corps. I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused. It just hurts inside.”

In the statement, Dickson said: “I love you”

He wrote: “He rolled over and told me ‘I love you’ before I took my last shot at him.”

Items purchased or actions after the killings

• After the killings, Dickson drove to Spinnakers Exxon and bought three bottles of Propel water and a can of Grizzly straight snuff.
• A video showed a young man taking sips of one of the bottles at the counter.
• Dickson later bought a chicken biscuit with his stepsister’s debit card but ate only two bites because he was so sick.
• Dickson rode four-wheelers with a friend and spent the day doing so.
• Dickson threw the gun into the woods, put on sandals, drove to a convenience store for water and smokeless tobacco, then rode four-wheelers.

Mental health and substance use

• It was said Dickson’s attorneys and investigators found he was not drunk and was not under the influence of any drug when he shot his family.
• The psychiatrist Robert Richards testified he could not find evidence of a mental illness that would give attorneys grounds for an insanity defense.

Pre-offence incidents mentioned

• Dickson had been kicked out of an apartment in Anderson for stealing a roommate’s credit card.
• His girlfriend had broken up with him.
• When he tried to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps, he scored too low on the entrance exam to get in and later lied about it to friends.
• He stole about $600 in change from his father.
• There was tension in his parents’ home when he moved back in and wasn’t working.

School and work history mentioned

• Nathan Dickson graduated from Wren High School in 2007.
• Creel and Dickson attended Anderson District 1 and 2 Career and Technology Center as lab partners studying electronics.
• Creel and Dickson were described as lab partners studying electronics and as friends.
• Dickson worked at a McDonald’s in Anderson after graduating.
• Dickson had moved back home a couple of weeks before the killings.
• Creel said Dickson planned to get a degree in electronics and work for Duke Power.

Community and witness statements mentioned

Patricia Dickson said: “Nathan had a good heart,” Patricia Dickson said. “Something was really wrong. He wouldn’t ever do this out of his heart. Something was really wrong. He loved his little brother and his dad was all he ever talked about.”

She also said: “Something was really wrong. Something was really wrong.

Melissa Funk said: “Whatever has happened, if what the police say is true, it’s not the Nathan that I know,” Funk said. “I am worried about him. I hate what has happened to everybody and I am worried about him too.”

Melissa Funk said: “I am worried about him.

Melissa Funk recalled Nathan Dickson saying: “Mrs. Funk, I have holes in my blue jeans.”

Oswaldo Hurtado said: “I do not understand what has gone on,” Hurtado said. “They were a normal family. Only God knows. No one else will ever know.”

Brantley Creel said: “He wasn’t a violent kind.” Creel said: “In my head, I really don’t think he done it,” Creel said. Creel said: “He wasn’t a violent kind.” Creel said: “He seemed like really scared. It didn’t look like the Nathan I knew,” he said. Creel said: “He said ‘I got a feeling something bad was going to happen.’” Creel also said: “Everything was fine. He was back to his normal self.” Creel said: “That was about the only time he’s ever went shooting with me,” Creel said. “But he enjoyed it.” Creel said: “He called and said, ‘Hey man, are we still going riding today?’ I said, ‘Sure, come on over,’” Creel said: “He said he’d be there in 45 minutes.” Creel said: “At one point in the day we stopped at a river to kind of cool off a little bit. That was the only point in the day he was really quiet,” Creel said. Creel said: “By the time we drove up, there was cops everywhere,” he said. Creel said: “Still, Dickson appeared unshaken, Creel said.”

Statements by investigators or officials

Chrissy Adams said: “I intend to seek the death penalty, but I can’t make a final determination until I have reviewed all of the evidence and spoken to the family,”

Chrissy Adams said: “Nothing really rises to the level of explaining why this happened that day,” Adams said. Chrissy Adams also said: “This was a family that loved each other.” Chrissy Adams said:

Susann Griffin said: “part of our ongoing investigation.”

James Cox said: “Yes.”

Don McCown was quoted saying: McCown wouldn’t say what gauge or who owned the gun.

Medication/air or evidence notes

• The case described no evidence of a struggle at the home.
• It was said apparently nothing was stolen, and authorities knew of no motive Dickson would have had for killing his family.

Vehicle and movement details

• Dickson drove a gold-colored Jeep Cherokee.
• He spent time with a friend riding four-wheelers.
• Deputies took Dickson into custody at 8 p.m. and sheriff deputies passed Creel’s grandparents’ home at 7:30 p.m.
• Sheriff Crenshaw announced deputies had found a fourth victim around 2 p.m.

Court appearance content

During the plea hearing, Dickson was said to have remained silent as family members cried, and he apologised to the families after accepting the plea.