An Uber driver has been charged with rape and murder after Indianapolis police said he confessed to sexually assaulting and killing a female passenger he picked up early one morning, authorities said.
The victim was identified as Chanti Dixon, a 30-year-old mother whose body was found Sept. 4, 2024, in a wooded area near her home after she failed to return from a ride, according to statements from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and local news reports. The driver, 29-year-old Francisco Valadez, later admitted to investigators that he raped Dixon and shot her during the encounter, police said.
Valadez was taken into custody shortly after Dixon’s body was discovered. Court documents allege he initially gave inconsistent accounts of her disappearance before confessing to the rape and murder, police said.
Background
The case drew sharp public attention and horror in Indianapolis and beyond, with Dixon’s family and community members decrying the violence and calling for accountability. Her mother, Rise Dixon, told local media that her daughter was returning home from work at a local club when she requested the Uber that brought her into Valadez’s vehicle.
According to reports, Valadez told detectives he had been trying to have consensual sex with Dixon when something she said made him angry, leading to the fatal shooting.
