Dateline: Unforgettable is investigating the murder of Dr Joseph “Joe” Sonnier, who was shot and stabbed by David Shepard, who was working at the behest of his friend, plastic surgeon Thomas “Mike” Dixon.
On July 10, 2012, Shepard shot Sonnier five times and stabbed him 11 times as the pathologist arrived at his home from work in Lubbock, Texas. Sonnier’s body was found by a landscaper the following day.
The Lubbock police had a major breakthrough in the case a few days later when Paul Reynolds contacted them, claiming a man he was staying with in Amarillo, TX, Shepard, had told him he’d killed a man in Lubbock.
Reynolds explained to detectives that Shepard had told him he’d shot a man on behalf of his friend, Thomas Dixon. He allegedly told Reynolds that Sonnier “had been causing problems” for Dixon and “there was a girlfriend that they had in common.”
Sonnier has been dating Richelle Shetina for almost a year. Shetina was Dixon’s ex-girlfriend, and he had already displayed signs of jealousy that she had moved on with Sonnier.
It is suspected that Dixon was behind a forged note sent claiming to be from an ex-girlfriend of Sonnier.
David Shepard said Thomas Dixon paid him to kill Joe Sonnier
The police arrested Shepard on a charge of capital murder, and he confessed to everything. He even showed detectives where he had thrown the murder weapon into an Amarillo lake.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelShepard said Dixon had paid him three silver bars and a box of expensive Cuban cigars in return for killing Sonnier. The cops learned that Dixon had cashed silver bars at a pawn shop the day after the murder. Dixon was subsequently arrested on a charge of capital murder.
The first trial against Dixon ended with a hung jury and a mistrial because Shepard suddenly changed his story and claimed he had acted alone.
However, a second trial in November 2015 found Dixon convicted on two counts of capital murder.
Thomas Dixon has faced retrials and appeals in Joe Sonnier murder case
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end; three years later, an appeals court declared that Dixon could not be convicted of the same crime twice. He would need to be retrialed and was even released on bail.
In 2022, another court ruling declared that one count of capital murder against Dixon should remain and that the killer would continue to serve a sentence of life in prison without parole. Shepard is serving the same sentence.
In April 2024, Dixon’s legal team filed another appeal, claiming his conviction was unfair for dozens of reasons.
Dateline: Unforgettable airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Oxygen.