GA GA - Desmond Santonio Dix, 17, Atlanta, 31 Jan 1996

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Desmond Dix was only 17 when he was abducted at gunpoint in Atlanta, GA almost 20 years ago in January of 1996. This case is one of those mysterious cases on the charleyproject with only 3 lines of information available. However, I found a link that elaborates on Desmond's disappearance. Desmond's brother was arrested and charged with a robbery (and shooting) that took place around the time Desmond disappeared in December 1994. However, it was disputed whether or not Desmond's brother had committed these crimes and it was suggested that Desmond may have been the one who committed the crimes and his brother was falsely arrested for the crimes because he and Desmond looked very similar to one another. The article also mentioned that Desmond ended up "disappearing".

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-court-of-appeals/1448223.html

I think that Desmond was abducted by either gang members or other sorts of criminals and either murdered or forced to "work" for them (commit crimes). He's been missing for 20 years and it doesn't seem like there are any UIDs that match his description that were found in GA, TN, FL, SC, or any of the states around Georgia.
 
MagnoliaMountain said:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/d/dix_desmond.html
Click to expand...

Many thanks, MagnoliaMountain, I forgot charleyproject was a thing for a moment there.

Next month will make it 19 years. Even if Desmond DID have something to do with those crimes, he didn't deserve for whatever happened to him to have happened. If he really was associated with bad people, I think he was in over his head and didn't know what he was doing and the long-term consequences of doing it until it was too late.
 
Desmond's case was one of two featured on a 2018 episode of ATL Homicide called "Sins of the Family". I am watching it right now, and here is what I've gathered:

Desmond was abducted in broad daylight as he sat in a car with his brother. His brother managed to escape, but Desmond was left behind and taken away.
The two alleged abductors were found and charged, but a judge let them walk as a result of a lack of physical evidence (specifically, the fact that no remains were ever found). The fact that the names of the accused have not been released and seem totally unknown to the general public suggests to me that they were probably juveniles.
A lot of Desmond's case file was handled by a detective who has since retired, so a good portion of information was seemingly lost, but investigators were eventually able to get in touch with this detective, who, for some reason that I will never understand, took the documents about Desmond's case with him to his house.
A skull with a gunshot wound and assorted bones, including a hip bone, were found in 2009 in a wooded area not far from where Desmond was abducted. The victim had been dead for years. Investigators were almost certain the remains were Desmond's, but he was ruled out via dental records. The remains were later identified through DNA as belonging to Alan Watson, 15, who had been missing from Decatur, GA since 2001.
 
A Facebook page called "Tattoo's [sic] of the Unidentified" posted the following Namus link (Warning: Post-Mortem facial close-up) of a decedent found on July 4, 1996 in Philadelphia, and someone commented saying the decedent could be Desmond, providing a link to Desmond's case on Namus. This person added that, although it says Desmond has been excluded, "they can be and have been wrong before."

In my opinion, the two look very much alike—though the height is off. But Desmond was last seen January 30, 1996 in Atlanta, and this decedent was found in Philadelphia about five months later on Independence Day.

What do you all think?
 
I think that there is a bit of a resemblance between Philadelphia JD and Desmond. The age range (12-17) matches up, as well as the height and weight.

I don't think it's too likely due to the circumstances of discovery, though:
  • Desmond was abducted at gunpoint from GA five months before PJD was found very, very far away
  • PJD had an estimated postmortem interval of only a few hours
  • No mention of heterochromia (Desmond's eyes were each different colors) on John Doe
  • PJD had four tattoos; Desmond didn't seem to have any and also didn't have the scars that PJD had
Maybe Desmond was abducted to "work" for someone else far away (as in, drug sales) and got the tattoos between January and July 1996, but I still think it is unlikely.
 
In the thread for UP16617, user Jake479 posted that "Desmond Dix has been ruled out" and linked the NamUs case file, but I don't see any confirmation of that on NamUs.

I agree though that it's probably not Desmond. Despite the superficial resemblance, his abductors would've had to keep him alive, yet hidden, for almost six months—very risky because he could've been sighted, or he could've slipped away and made contact with someone etc.
 
https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/59147db5add7b04934444228
FindLaw's Court of Appeals of Georgia case and opinions.
In 1994 Desmond's brother Savin Dix was convicted of aggravated assault, aggravated assault with intent to rob, and aggravated battery. On a 2000 appeal Savin and his girlfriend seem to point the finger or at least suggest that it was or could have been Desmond who at the time of the appeal was missing for 4 years. They suggest it could have been Desmond because they look a like. Savin Dix provided the trial court with no evidence whatsoever that Desmond was involved in the shooting, and he points to no such evidence on appeal.
 
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