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Decatur man sentenced to life in prison after jury convicts him in girlfriend's strangling death

A jury convicted Antonio Taylor on murder charges after the death of his girlfriend in 2019.

DECATUR, Ga. — A Decatur man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after a jury found him guilty of murdering his girlfriend in 2019.

The jury found Antonio Taylor guilty of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault and aggravated battery in the death of  Aisha Dixon, according to a release from the DeKalb County District Attorney's office. The jury delivered their decision last week.

Law enforcement officers said Dixon died in her home at the Spring Valley Apartment complex along Misty Waters Drive on April 28, 2019. Taylor was arrested the day after.

Investigators said the two were in a romantic relationship. Taylor had been away for the weekend and discovered Dixon had relations with another man while he was gone, according to a news release. 

RELATED: East Point police investigating 'suspicious death' of woman

Credit: 11Alive
Antonio Taylor

Authorities said Taylor was upset and took his frustrations out on his girlfriend, beating and strangling her so severely her internal organs were lacerated and all of her ribs were fractured. Dixon's body also showed evidence of numerous blunt force trauma injuries throughout her torso, head, and neck from the strangulation, according to investigators. Law enforcement said one of Dixon's children also saw the beating.

The apartment's leaseholder demanded Taylor and Dixon leave the home after the brutal beating, according to authorities. 

Taylor called his daughter to pick them up and she noticed Dixon sitting on the ground, leaning on a car and mumbling. Taylor wrote off her actions, claiming she was drunk. Law enforcement said this was likely the moment Dixon started bleeding internally.

Taylor later tried to carry Dixon to his daughter's third-floor apartment in East Point but dropped her on the ground. Officers added that she suffered a large head wound but did not leave blood behind because she was likely already dead at this point.

Children inside the home said Dixon seemed to be unconscious, prompting Taylor to take her to Grady Memorial Hospital. He told medical staff she had fallen up the stairs, investigators said. Healthcare workers said Dixon's injuries were not consistent with Taylor's story and called the police.

Authorities took Taylor into custody as he denied any wrongdoing before eventually admitting to strangling Dixon.

Taylor was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

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