Prosecutors say the killing followed a prior domestic violence case involving the child’s mother.
ATLANTA, GA — Fulton County prosecutors say a father accused of fatally stabbing his 4-year-old daughter has been indicted in a domestic violence case that officials described as an attack meant to punish the child’s mother.
Rashad Dixon is accused in the death of his daughter, Zuri Dixon, after a March stabbing at a southwest Atlanta apartment complex. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said her office will seek a sentence that would keep Dixon in prison for the rest of his life. The indictment marks a new stage in a case that police first treated as a fatal domestic dispute.
The case began late on a Saturday night in March, when Atlanta police were called to a fight in progress in the 1900 block of Alison Court SW. Officers arrived around 11:30 p.m. and spoke with a woman who reported a dispute inside an apartment. Because the door was locked, police forced their way in through a window. Inside, investigators said, officers found Dixon holding the injured child. Police said officers used de-escalation tactics to get Zuri away from him before medics took her to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding. She later died from her injuries. “It’s a horrible case of a father taking the life of his child to punish the mother,” Willis said. “Those are, at least, the allegations.”
Prosecutors said a 911 call captured Zuri’s mother yelling for help before the call went silent. Executive District Attorney Adam Abbate said Zuri’s mother did not want Dixon at the home and called 911 when he arrived. Abbate said investigators believe Dixon grabbed the phone, stabbed it with a knife and made it inoperable. He said Dixon then ran outside and broke a front window of the woman’s vehicle. The indictment includes 12 counts, ranging from murder and first-degree cruelty to children to hindering a person making an emergency telephone call. Officials also said Dixon was treated and released after what they described as superficial wounds to his neck. Abbate said investigators believe those wounds were self-inflicted in an effort to avoid responsibility.
Fulton County prosecutors said the killing came after a history of abuse involving Zuri’s mother, Jazzuri Rouse. Officials said a Clayton County indictment from June 2025 included an aggravated assault charge against Dixon in which Rouse was the alleged victim. Executive District Attorney Simone Hylton said the records and evidence in the case show the danger in intimate partner violence cases. “Sometimes they say prosecutors don’t cry, but this one, when you read it, when you see some of the evidence, it’s heart-wrenching,” Hylton said. The earlier case remains part of the broader account prosecutors are using to describe what they say led to Zuri’s death. Authorities have not publicly released every detail of the sequence inside the apartment or the full evidence list tied to the indictment.
Atlanta police initially said Dixon faced several felony counts after the stabbing, including murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, first-degree cruelty to children, possession of a knife during the commission of a felony, false imprisonment, criminal damage to property and simple assault. Police said Dixon and the child were both taken to hospitals after the incident. Zuri’s death led to a vigil at the apartment complex, where family and friends gathered with candles and balloons. Rouse described her daughter as loving and bright. “My girl was destined to be great,” Rouse said. She said her daughter liked foods including red snapper, oxtails and beef patties, and had a way of asking for hugs even after being told no.
The case also prompted Fulton County officials to discuss wider plans for domestic violence response. Deputy District Attorney Asia Baysah said domestic violence remains a major concern even as other crime categories fall. She said the district attorney’s office has studied family justice centers in other parts of the country. Family Justice Center Site Coordinator Melissa Arthur said Fulton County plans to launch a center in 2027 and has 40 partners committed. Officials said the center is intended to bring services together in one place for people affected by domestic violence. Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed a bill creating a framework for family justice centers across Georgia, including in Fulton County.
A spokesman for the Georgia Public Defender Council said a public defender has been appointed to represent Dixon in pending criminal matters in Clayton County and Fulton County. In a statement, the council said the allegations are serious and have deeply affected multiple people, families and communities, including Zuri’s loved ones. Prosecutors said they will press for a life sentence if Dixon is convicted. Court dates and the next major hearing in the Fulton County case were not immediately listed in the reports reviewed Tuesday.
Dixon remains accused, not convicted, in Zuri’s death. Prosecutors said the indictment moves the case forward, while the public defender’s office said the court process will continue in both Fulton and Clayton counties.
Author note: Last updated June 9, 2026.