Police: Bay Area fugitive wanted to see wife 1 last time

CONCORD - A suspect in a San Francisco Bay Area revenge killing went on the run for a month and finally turned himself in at a small town in Oregon after saying goodbye to his wife, authorities said.

Terrance Boyd Dixon fled to Bandon, Oregon, where his wife lived so he could hug her one last time, police in the East Bay city of Concord said.

Dixon is suspected in the July killing of 64-year-old Michael Downie, the East Bay Times newspaper reported Saturday. Authorities believe Dixon beat Downie to death with a fire poker, according to a criminal complaint.

Detectives said Downie had told friends he was afraid of Dixon seeking revenge because his testimony in a decades-old case had sent Dixon to prison.

After the killing, police determined Dixon had stolen Downie's car and sold it in Yolo County, California. From there, he hitchhiked to Bandon, a Coos County town along the Pacific Coast with a population of about 3,000 people.

On Aug. 14, a woman - later identified as Dixon's wife - called police and said Dixon wanted to turn himself in. Bandon's police Chief Bob Webb personally arrested Dixon outside the police station that day, according to authorities.

Dixon will be returned to Contra Costa County, where he was charged on Thursday with murder. It wasn't known Sunday if he has an attorney.

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Information from: East Bay Times, http://www.eastbaytimes.com