Vigil for Orlando woman on anniversary of death

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Wednesday marked a somber anniversary for one Orlando-area family.  At least two dozen family members and friends gathered to remember Sade Dixon.  

They prayed in front of her parents’ home, where Orange County Sheriffs Deputies say Dixon was gunned down by her ex-boyfriend, Markeith Loyd.  

Behind the balloons in Dixon’s favorite color purple, bullet holes can still be seen in the stucco on the front of the family’s home.  Stephanie Dixon-Daniels says she’s leaving them there.

“That’s a reminder that you came here and violated my home,” said Dixon-Daniels. She says it’s been a tough year.  “It hurts. It hurts to the core. I cry cry cry.”

Those remembering Sade Dixon laughed and cried while telling stories about her love for her two  sons and family and her zest for life.

“She was a phenomenal woman,” said Dixon-Daniels.

She announced they’ve created a foundation in her daughter’s honor, Sade Dixon Three Heartbeats.   At 9:13 p.m., the time Sade Dixon was killed, Dixon’s mother and son’s released the balloons in her honor.

“It’s to tell her that we still love her, that we’re still thinking about her.  It’s just like releasing all my love to her,” said Dixon-Daniels.

Sade Dixon’s accused killer, Markeith Loyd, is also accused of killing Lt. Debra Clayton.  If found guilty in either case, Loyd could be sentenced to death.  

Dixon-Daniels says part of the foundations mission will be to try to convince lawmakers that there’s too much time between when suspects are found guilty and sentenced and when they’re actually put to death.