AKRON, Ohio (Court TV) — An Ohio man who represented himself at trial has been convicted of murdering a medical assistant.
Quinton Nixon, 33, fatally shot Toni Westover, 34, on July 25, 2022. Nixon was arrested almost a month later.
Before delivering her verdict, Judge Christine Croce told Nixon that she believed he had done a “great and grave disservice” to himself by choosing to be pro se and represent himself at trial. Nixon had elected to proceed to trial without an attorney or a jury.
Nixon was sentenced immediately following the verdict. He addressed the Court, saying “I’m not a monster… It didn’t happen the way they said it happened.” Judge Croce, who called Nixon’s testimony “illogical,” sentenced him to 21 years to life in prison.
Quinton Nixon, who’s accused of murdering Toni Westover, in court. Nixon is a pro se defendant, and the case against him is a bench trial. (Court TV)
Amy Perry, Westover’s sister, told Scripps News Cleveland that Westover and her boyfriend went to an Akron home where an altercation took place, and she was shot. No motive or connection between Nixon and Westover has been reported.
Perry also said Westover texted a friend sometime between 1 and 1:30 a.m., less than an hour before she died, saying: “Something doesn’t feel right. Something feels off.” Westover was gunned down during an altercation sometime between 2 and 2:15 a.m.
DAILY TRIAL UPDATES
DAY 6 – 11/6/24
- The judge delivered her verdict.
- Guilty of four counts for Toni Westover’s shooting death — 2 counts of murder, felonious assault, tampering with evidence – plus another count from another case of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.
- Nixon DID apologize to the victims and ask for forgiveness from Toni Westover’s mother and sister, who both spoke at the sentencing. But he insisted he is not the “monster” they think he is. “It didn’t happen the way they said it happened.”
- Judge Croce told Nixon his testimony was “illogical” and unsupported by the evidence, but said he now seems remorseful and appears to be a different person from the one who was led down the path to drugs and gun violence.
- Judge Croce began sentencing by commending Nixon for his conduct in court but told him he did himself “a great and grave disservice” by going pro se when standby counsel could have guided him to a more nuanced defense strategy.
- Croce’s ruling including an impassioned lament against gun violence and drugs, which she said are responsible for a large portion of the cases that come before her.
- Nixon grew increasingly emotional as sentencing went on, wiping away tears as his daughter and sister spoke on his behalf.
- Toni Westover’s mother and sister delivered victim impact statements.
- Two Nixon relatives spoke. The first was inaudible. The second speaker, was his sister.
DAY 5 – 11/5/24
- State witness Ashley Brotton McKnight returned to the stand to testify in Nixon’s defense. She reached out to prosecutors after seeing Nixon’s testimony to tell them, “I don’t think he’s lying.”
- Brotton McKnight stood by her initial testimony that Nixon shot Westover after struggling with her over the gun. She walked back prior testimony in which she said Nixon called Westover a cop, now saying what she actually heard was Nixon say, “I’m not a cop,” while he pleaded with Angel McClain to de-escalate the situation.
- Brotton McKnight said she saw another party to the incident (who was not charged) get rid of ballistics evidence from the scene. She said Nixon “should not be the only one sitting up there” and that the situation “could have been prevented” if others at the scene had intervened.
- WATCH: Recalled Witness Testifies for Quinton Nixon
- WATCH: Cross-Examination of Pro Se Defendant, Quinton Nixon
- Both sides delivered closing arguments.
- In her closing, prosecutor Felicia Easter said inconsistencies in Nixon’s accounts to police and his testimony showed he couldn’t be trusted. Easter also said Nixon’s decision to flee, get rid of the gun and barricade himself in a cousin’s home in a police standoff were evidence of his guilty conscience.
- In his closing, pro se defendant Quinton Nixon repeatedly stated, “This is not murder,” and that he was “fighting for my life.”
- Nixon lamented that others at the party were never arrested in the shooting despite evidence they committed drug-and-gun-related offenses while on parole or probation and have been free all this time.
- Nixon accused investigators of setting their sights on him and ignoring evidence that allegedly implicates others, including the victim’s boyfriend, Brian Fields, in starting the alleged physical altercation that led to the tussle over the gun.
DAY 4 – 10/9/24
- Nixon questioned responding officer, Detective Danny D’Annunzio of the Akron PD, about the crime scene in the murder of Toni Westover.
- Pro se defendant Quinton Nixon testified in his own defense
DAY 3 – 10/3/24
- The state rests their case-in-chief
- Prosecutors play Quinton Nixon’s interview with detectives, conducted not long after he was apprehended by the Akon PD SWAT team serving a murder warrant in late August 2022, about a month after Toni’s slaying. The irritant effects of the chemical agents used to take him into custody are evident at times.
- Quinton Nixon cross-examines the lead Akron police detective in this case, Edward Hornacek. Nixon’s primary focus during cross seemed to be why Brian Fielders and Adam Wright weren’t also charged with parole violations for being around a firearm (they both testified for the State).
DAY 2 – 10/2/24
- Eyewitnesses Ronald Crew and Adam Wright testified
- Forensic pathologist Dr. Kristy Waite testified that Westover’s cause of death was a gunshot wound involving the base of the neck and torso, and the manner was homicide.
DAY 1 – 10/1/24
- The judge hears opening statements:
- Pro se defendant Quinton Nixon asked the judge to dismiss the case based on vindictive prosecution; he asked to dismiss felony charges for delay of preliminary hearing; and he presented a motion to continue. The judge denied those motions.
- Brian Fielders, the boyfriend of victim Toni Westover, testified about the events leading up to the shooting.
