Antonie Dixon
Antonie Dixon (1968 – 4 February 2009) was a convicted New Zealand thief and
Dixon suffered horrendous abuse as a child, according to evidence given at his 2007 Appeal Court hearing.[3] In prison he beat and attempted to gouge the eye of another inmate and pulled a weapon on his own lawyer. He died in prison in 2009.
Major violent crimes
Dixon attacked both of his partners, Renee Gunbie and Simonne Butler, with a
Trials
During his trial, Dixon advanced a defence based primarily on
He appealed against his conviction to the
The retrial began in June 2008 and concluded with a second guilty verdict on 30 July 2008. Dixon was remanded in custody pending a sentencing hearing set down for 5 February 2009. Dixon was reported to have made it known that he intended to appeal against the outcome of this second trial as well. A cousin named Andre Joel Wilkie Mail was later jailed for attempting to bribe a juror during Dixon's second trial.[7]
Death in prison
Prison staff intervened quickly to subdue Dixon and avoid any injury to his lawyer Barry Hart after Dixon made moves to attack Hart.[8] Corrections Minister Judith Collins was informed of the incident and ordered a full report. She also encouraged Hart to lay a complaint with police.[8] Hart chose not to lay a formal complaint as he felt that his client was suffering from severe mental health issues. On National Radio on the afternoon of 4 February, Hart denied that an attack had happened at all, refusing to speak further about it with the interviewer.[3]
At 10:30 PM on 4 February 2009, the night before his scheduled re-sentencing, Dixon was found dead in his cell at
Dixon in popular culture
Due to the nature of the crimes and the prominence of the trial, images of Dixon took root in the public psyche. Some aspects of the crime, such as Gunbie's severed hand
- On the television programme T-shirtswith an unflattering portrait of Dixon's face printed on them. A shot of Dixon with his notorious facial expressions and haircut also features in the shows opening credits.
- On an episode of Vale Pepelodescribed "upside-down b" (P is a common slang term for 'Pure' (methamphetamine)) as "that highly addictive drug that makes you cut off peoples hands!" a reference to the Dixon case.
- Deja Voodoo referenced the case in their song "P" with the lyrics "I smoked P and I didn't cut anybody's hands off".[11]
- Craccum, the Auckland University Students' Association magazine, referenced "Antonie Ronnie" (as his name was commonly mis-spelled) Dixon in issue 9, 2007, saying that Dixon had made his hairstyle "...the most popular haircut in West Auckland since the mullet."
- In August 2008, it came to light that a MySpace page attributed to Dixon had been created with the help of an unknown third-party outside prison.[12]
- The name of indie band Cut Off Your Hands references Dixon's crimes.
- Hip hopartist Cyphanetik referenced Dixon's crimes in the song "Misfits My Bitches" - "Write another diss and I'll find the hands the writ them / chop them motherfuckers straight off like Antonie Dixon".
- In 2011, a television comedy series re-recorded audio in the few scenes where the dog's name was mentioned,[15]the Dixon in the name referring to Antonie Dixon.
References
- ^ "Ex-lover tells of Dixon's paranoia and P smoking". The New Zealand Herald. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ "Dixon claiming insanity to avoid prison - Crown". Otago Daily Times. 29 July 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ Stuff.co.nz. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ Carter, Bridget (8 February 2005). "I'll go down in a blaze of glory: accused". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
- ^ a b Taylor, Phil (28 May 2005). "Murderer's madman persona vanishes". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
- Stuff.co.nz. 4 August 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ Savage, Jared (27 June 2009). "Cousin jailed for trying to corrupt juror". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
- ^ Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ "Corrections 'stuffed up', says Dixon's lawyer". The New Zealand Herald. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ "Traces of P found in Dixon's blood after cell suicide". Auckland Now. 27 August 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2020 – via Stuff.
- ^ "Deja Voodoo - P". video.google.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.
- Television New Zealand. 2 August 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ "Bad Dog!". Chortle. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
External links
- NZ Herald article covering the result of Dixon's appeal
- [1] TVNZ news report showing Dixon's full name on coroners report