Woman sentenced to prison for abusing Bellingham toddler to death in 2019

A 30-year-old woman who abused a Bellingham toddler to death will spend several decades in prison.

After a two-hour hearing Tuesday afternoon Aug. 2, Whatcom County Superior Court Judge David Freeman sentenced Kamee Nicole Dixon to 34 years in prison, with three years probation.

A jury found Dixon guilty June 30 in Whatcom County Superior Court of homicide by abuse for the Nov. 30, 2019, death of 3-year-old Hazel Journey Homan. Dixon was also charged with second-degree murder, but a mistrial was declared because the jury was deadlocked and couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict. The murder charge was dismissed without prejudice at Dixon’s sentencing hearing.

Dixon was given an exceptional sentence above the standard range, with a little more than five years of prison time added on. Dixon’s standard range for her conviction was nearly 22 years to just shy of 29 years in prison, according to court records.

Each person has a standard range of prison time based on their convictions in a case and criminal history. An exceptional sentence is one in which attorneys seek time, either above or below, the standard range for a person.

Both the prosecution and defense attorneys sought exceptional sentences for Dixon.

Numerous family members also spoke on behalf of Hazel and Dixon.

Dixon had requested a new trial in July, but the request was ultimately denied.

Hazel’s death was ruled a homicide Jan. 23, 2020, by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. Dixon was not Hazel’s biological mother, but was Hazel’s primary caregiver and was in a relationship with Hazel’s biological father, Brandon Homan, at the time of the toddler’s death.

Dixon’s defense attorneys, Emily Beschen and Douglas Hyldahl, argued that Hazel’s death was a “tragic accident” that occurred after Hazel choked on a breakfast sandwich and the lack of oxygen to the child’s brain resulted in her death.

But the prosecution argued that Dixon hit Hazel until the child suffered a traumatic brain injury that resulted in her death. Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Erik Sigmar said during the trial that over the last five months of her life, Hazel suffered repeated abuse at the hands of Dixon.

Dixon is the first person to be charged, tried and convicted for homicide by abuse, which has been a criminal charge since 1987, by the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office.

Dixon’s jury trial began in mid-April, with jury selection occurring in March. It is the longest-known criminal jury trial in Whatcom County history — spanning 95 days, The Bellingham Herald previously reported.

Dixon has 30 days to exercise her right to appeal her conviction and/or her sentence. Dixon plans to file an appeal, Beschen told The Herald Tuesday evening.

Asking for life

In a sentencing memorandum filed July 18, prosecutors in the case asked the court to give Dixon an exceptional sentence above the standard range and sentence her to 57 years in prison — essentially a life sentence.

It was a request senior deputy prosecuting attorney Gordon Jenkins reiterated in court Tuesday, asking the judge to add nearly 30 years on to Dixon’s sentence.

In both the memo and in court, prosecutors sought an exceptional sentence above the standard range because the jury found Dixon used her position of trust to facilitate the crime and because Dixon knew or should have known Hazel was vulnerable or incapable of resistance, court records show.

Jenkins said homicide by abuse was determined by the state legislature to be on par with first-degree murder as far as seriousness, and the severity of the crime should not be overlooked. In the sentencing memo, prosecutors noted that the King County Medical Examiner found 50 blows to the child, which were in various stages of healing.

Jenkins said Dixon used her position of trust, in which she was essentially acting as the toddler’s mother, to isolate the child from the outside world. By taking Hazel out of daycare and keeping her from friends and family, Dixon denied others the opportunity to intervene in the abuse Hazel was suffering, he said.

Hazel was particularly vulnerable because of her age and small stature, Jenkins said, noting that the child weighed around 33 pounds when she died. The toddler was also shy, struggled to communicate her needs and struggled with coordination and eyesight, he said. She relied on Dixon and those around her to keep her safe, he said.

Throughout the case, the word repeatedly referred to in regards to the case was tragedy and that Hazel’s death was a tragedy, Jenkins said. When someone dies so young and loses their future, the impact Hazel’s death has had on her family, it is sad and tragic, but the word tragedy is inadequate to describe what was done to Hazel, Jenkins said.

“Tragedy implies an accident, a mistake, a horrific act of God. Hazel’s death was not the result of negligence or an accident. Hazel died after repeated intentional abusive acts by the defendant that came after months of being bruised, broken and burned, that all culminated in repeated blows to the head, causing a traumatic brain injury and death,” Jenkins said. “This was not a mistake, this was not an error, this was not a lapse in judgment. It was homicide by abuse.”

A difficult case

In their own sentencing memorandum filed July 25, Dixon’s defense attorneys asked the court to impose a sentence within the standard range.

Because homicide by abuse is a serious violent offense, Dixon will only be eligible for 10% earned early release time, the court records state. Her attorneys argued that the aggravating circumstances found by the jury do not justify a substantial and compelling reason to sentence her above the standard range in prison.

They also wrote that because of the nature of her conviction, Dixon will face a hostile environment in prison.

At Tuesday’s sentencing, Hyldahl, one of Dixon’s defense attorneys, asked the judge to sentence Dixon to an exceptional sentence below the standard range or on the low end of the standard range.

Hyldahl said the evidence in the case did not show a substantial and compelling reason to give Dixon an exceptional sentence above the standard range and that it did not show an aggravated pattern or practice of assault or torture.

Hyldahl said the prosecutors painted a picture in which Hazel suffered repeated injury, every one of which was intentional. But Hyldahl argued that the jury did not find that Dixon intentionally assaulted Hazel the morning of Nov. 27, 2019, and that the prosecution was painting a picture the evidence didn’t show.

“This was a difficult case for everyone that was involved. It was long, contentious, neither side gave an inch, but that does not mean that an aggravated sentence is called for. It simply means this was a very difficult case,” Hyldahl said. “I can tell the court that (Dixon) is despondent over the entire situation. Contrary to what counsel has said, Hazel was not an emblem or tool. She was not a symbol, she was a very real child who Kamee loved and did her best to take care of.”

Dixon declined to speak during her sentencing hearing.

Freeman, the judge, said this case was one of the most difficult he has presided over and the sentencing decision was not any easier. He thanked the people who spoke in court and gave them his sympathies, but acknowledged that those words would not bring Hazel back or express the grief they were all feeling.

Freeman said it was his job to set aside emotion and apply the law to the facts determined by the jury. Freeman found that while Dixon didn’t use her position of trust and power over Hazel purposefully in the commission of the crime, she did use it to isolate the toddler. He also found that Hazel was a particularly vulnerable victim.

Freeman said these factors provided a substantial and compelling reason to deviate from the standard range sentence, but said he didn’t believe the prosecution’s request of 57 years was just.

After balancing all factors, Freeman sentenced Dixon to an exceptional sentence above the standard range of 34 years in prison.

Dixon has 30 days to exercise her right to appeal her conviction and/or her sentence.

A restitution hearing in the case has been tentatively set for Oct. 20.

Resources

▪ Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org

▪ Child Protective Services: Washington state hotline for reporting child abuse and neglect, 866-829-2153.

▪ Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org.

▪ Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.

▪ Tl’ils Ta’á’altha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program/

▪ Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.

▪ WWU Consultation and Sexual Assault Support Survivor Advocacy Services: 360-650-3700 or wp.wwu.edu/sexualviolence/.