Update: Body of missing Kentucky mom identified after ex-boyfriend charged in murder
UPDATE: It was confirmed Wednesday that a body found at a Madison County storage facility was that of missing Scott County mother Sheena Baxter.
The ex-boyfriend of a missing Scott County mother has been indicted on murder and other charges after she disappeared on Valentine’s Day, according to Georgetown police.
A body was found at a storage facility in Richmond Tuesday not long after the charges were announced. Wednesday morning it was confirmed that the body was Sheena Baxter, Madison County coroner Jimmy Cornelison said.
Baxter, 32, was last seen on the night of Feb. 14. Her ex-boyfriend, 53-year-old Joseph Hicks, was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree criminal mischief, falsely reporting an incident and evidence tampering, according to jail records.
On Tuesday, Hicks was indicted on additional charges of murder, first-degree robbery and being a felon in possession of a handgun, according to Georgetown police. He was indicted while police were searching for her remains.
On Tuesday afternoon, Baxter’s body was found wrapped in plastic inside a storage unit off Lancaster Road in Madison County, said Cornelison.
Representatives of the Georgetown and Richmond police departments were at the scene, along with crime scene investigators from Lexington, he said.
The storage facility off Lancaster Road is not far from Hicks’ home, WKYT reported.
Cornelison said he did not know how long the body might have been in the storage unit.
“We ask that you please continue to keep Ms. Baxter’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers,” Georgetown police said in the Facebook post. “This investigation continues.”
Even before Baxter’s body was found, investigators had an “overwhelming” amount of evidence of a homicide, police said at a press conference Tuesday. Hicks was responsible, police said.
Hicks had previously told police that on Feb. 14, the night of Baxter’s disappearance, he’d been shot during an attempted robbery at Walmart in Georgetown, according to WKYT, the Herald-Leader’s reporting partner.
Hicks was shot, but police determined it was not during a robbery in which he was a victim, police said during Tuesday’s press conference. Investigators believe Hicks was shot at the scene of the homicide, police said.
Baxter had three daughters, ages 5, 6 and 17.
The night she went missing, Baxter had gone outside to put a bag in her car, said Christa Crumley, Baxter’s sister. Baxter had told her family she’d be right back, but never came back inside.
Hicks was indicted after a joint investigation by the Georgetown Police Department and the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Lexington Police Department forensic unit, the FBI and other agencies.
Hicks was directly indicted after a special grand jury heard evidence in the case, police said. Investigators did not immediately release details about how Baxter died while the investigation continued.
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 12:56 PM.
