Thomas Dixon and David Shepard Indicted on Capital Murder Charges in Death of Dr. Joseph Sonnier III

The men jailed for the murder of a prominent Lubbock doctor have been indicted.

A Lubbock County Grand Jury today indicted 48-year-old Thomas Michael Dixon and 51-year-old David Neal Shepard on counts of capital murder in the murder of 57-year-old Joseph Sonnier III.

Sonnier was found dead on July 11^th at his home in the 4600 block of 21^st Street. He had been shot and stabbed.

Sonnier, the chief pathologist at Covenant Medical Center, was reportedly in a relationship with Dixon’s ex girlfriend, and had told coworkers that his “girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend would not leave her alone.”

Dixon, a plastic surgeon in Amarillo, is believed to have paid Shepard three silver bars worth approximately $3,000 to murder Sonnier.

Lubbock Police say that Shepard had told his roommate that he had shot Sonnier several times after entering his home through a window. Shepard had attempted to commit suicide around July 13^th by cutting his wrists, and was treated by Dixon, according to the roommate’s account.