Home / Crime and Justice / Cold Case Solved: 24 Years Later, Husband Jailed for Wife's Murder
Cold Case Solved: 24 Years Later, Husband Jailed for Wife's Murder
1 May
Summary
- Regina Hicks vanished in 2001 and was found dead in her car.
- Husband Paul Hicks was convicted after a 24-year cold case investigation.
- A witness with immunity provided testimony about the night Regina disappeared.
Regina Hicks vanished on the evening of October 18, 2001, after arranging to pick up her young son from her estranged husband's friend's property in Willard, Ohio. Investigators discovered her dead body four days later inside her car, which was submerged in a nearby pond.
Initially, Paul Hicks, Regina's estranged husband, was a suspect. However, the case remained unsolved for 24 years due to a lack of direct evidence. Investigators alleged Paul orchestrated a scheme to frame an ex-girlfriend for arson, but he pleaded guilty only to insurance fraud.
In 2025, a cold case team from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation reopened the investigation. By granting immunity to Steve Gates, a witness and friend of Paul Hicks, they obtained crucial testimony. Gates revealed an argument between Regina and Paul on the night of her disappearance.
Gates testified that Paul drowned Regina after she became unconscious in the car, then drove the vehicle into the pond. Following a trial in 2025, Paul Hicks was found guilty of murder and kidnapping, receiving a sentence of 25 years to life. He is currently appealing his conviction.
