Army soldier Brandon Wilson looked forward to reuniting with his girlfriend, Jayne Salazar-Chavez, during Veterans Day weekend. However, his enthusiasm was met with her apparent unhappiness as he arrived at her home.
The reason for her discontent soon surfaced. Salazar-Chavez had been in communication with another man. Following a heated phone confrontation between Wilson and this individual, gunshots rang out, tragically ending with Salazar-Chavez, 17, losing her life and leaving Wilson injured.
DeKalb County Police Master Officer Irving Huynh reflected on the gravity of the situation in a July 25 episode of Oxygen’s The Real Murders of Atlanta, noting, “It always hits a little harder” when the victim is as young as Salazar-Chavez.
Who Was Jayne Salazar-Chavez?
Salazar-Chavez was highly regarded at Towers High School, both as a homecoming queen and an integral part of the Air Force JROTC program. Friends remembered her fondly, painting her as a sweet, grounded individual who was well-liked by everyone.
In the aftermath, as authorities sought out critical leads, Wilson recounted the moments that unfolded prior to the tragic shooting.
Wilson said he picked up Salazar-Chavez at home around 11:30 p.m., where they argued over a suggestive text she had received from another man. As the couple drove around to cool off, Wilson called the man and the two argued over who was Salazar-Chavez’s boyfriend.
According to Wilson, when he dropped Salazar-Chavez back at home, he noticed a shadowy figure near her mailbox and a red laser pointed at his car. As his military training kicked in, Wilson threw the car in reverse, but the individual began yelling and fired 20 bullets into the car.
While racing through the neighborhood, Wilson heard Salazar-Chavez scream.
“She was choking on her blood,” Wilson told police in audio footage. “Then I called 911.”
Wilson, who had been shot in the knee, drove to a nearby gas station, where he met paramedics. Despite life-saving measures, Salazar-Chavez died within five minutes.
After Wilson was ruled out as a suspect, detectives turned their attention to Salazar-Chavez’s phone.
“Whoever was arguing on the phone,” said Huynh, “that’s where the motive is pointing toward.”
The Hidden Clue in Jayne Salazar-Chavez’s Journal
One obstacle remained: Salazar-Chavez’s phone was locked, and no one knew the password. As DeKalb County Patrol Officer Anthony Little pointed out, “That’s one thing that could make or break the case.”
While waiting on a search warrant for call records, investigators searched Salazar-Chavez’s bedroom.
The search uncovered her journal, which contained a number that turned out to be the passcode to her phone.
“That’s luck,” noted Huynh. “That’s a big break in the case.”
A selfie on Salazar-Chavez’s phone, taken a few days before the shooting, also became a key piece of evidence. An unidentified man also appeared in the photo, along with a firearm, stuck between the driver’s seat and the center console.
Detectives showed the photo to Salazar-Chavez’s loved ones, but no one recognized him.
An anonymous tip soon followed.
“This person actually was keeping track of the case on the news,” said Huynh. “They told us we should look into…a guy named Nakia Dorsey.”
Who Killed Jayne Salazar-Chavez?
Detectives pulled up 23-year-old Dorsey’s driver’s license photo and compared it to the man in the selfie, which was a match. They also obtained a search warrant for Dorsey’s last known address and went to question him, but he wasn’t home.
Inside were multiple firearms, though none matched the murder weapon. Authorities also recovered three cell phones—one of which was used to call Salazar-Chavez on the night she was killed—while location data placed Dorsey at the crime scene.
In early 2023, Dorsey was arrested and charged with murder.
Although Dorsey refused to speak to police, investigators concluded his motive was jealousy.
“There is kind of a love triangle,” DeKalb County District Attorney Investigator Aria Lynch said in the episode. “These two men are both dating—in their minds—Jayne. They ended up fighting, arguing, and getting riled up on the phone in the car to the point where Nakia Dorsey, an avid gun owner, went out to her house.”
Dorsey went on trial for murder in August 2023, and the jury delivered a guilty verdict. He was sentenced to life in prison, plus 25 years to run consecutively.