16-year-old charged with murder of father following January shooting

INDIANAPOLIS — A 16-year-old has been charged with murder for allegedly killing his own father on the near west side of Indianapolis.

In mid-January, officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were dispatched to the 200 block of N Warman Avenue on a report of shots fired. 

When officers arrived, they found 37-year-old Rodney Nixon Jr. shot inside an apartment. Nixon was pronounced dead at the scene.

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IMPD officials said Nixon’s death is another example of a family conflict escalating to tragedy.

“We just want people to continue to work on their conflict resolution. Work it out and talk to each other,” said IMPD officer Tommy Thompson.

Zavyon Nixon, 16, has now been charged in relation to the death of his father.

Although Zavyon Nixon is underage, he is charged as an adult.  In Indiana, murder cases involving suspects who are 16-years old and above are filed into adult court.

According to court records, Zavyon Nixon’s mother reportedly insisted she was being assaulted by the victim and her son defended her. However, the documents said she showed no signs of injury.

The affidavit details how one witness reportedly told police she heard the mother of Zavyon Nixon say “Kill him, son.” 

“We want to continue to have our society be mature. We have to do that as adults to help our younger generation,” said Thompson.

“We all know there’s conflict in all of our lives. We can’t avoid it. So let’s give people the tools and resources to address it and resolve it peacefully,” said Dane Nutty, the president of the Indy Public Safety Foundation.

Because poor conflict resolution between family members can be a major cause of violence, the Indy Center for Conflict Resolution, which is a part of the foundation, provides conflict coaching and mediation services to try and save lives.

“We do know based on data that increasing people’s conflict resolution skills helps our society in general,” said Nutty.

The shooting on Warman marks the first juvenile charged as an adult with murder in Marion County in 2025 so far.

Zavyon Nixon is due in court for an initial hearing next week. In the meantime, he’s being held without bond pending trial.