Man who admitted to murdering a Scott County mom on Valentine’s Day has been sentenced
A Richmond man who admitted killing a Scott County mother of three has been sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Joseph Hicks in June pleaded guilty to the murder of Sheena Baxter on Valentine’s Day 2020. On Monday, he was sentenced in Scott Circuit Court. Of the 45-year sentence, 25 years was for the murder charge. Hicks also pleaded guilty to and was sentenced for charges of first-degree robbery, felon in possession of a handgun, tampering with physical evidence, first-degree criminal mischief and falsely reporting an incident.
Hicks, 55, was Baxter’s ex-boyfriend. Her body was found in a storage unit 11 days after her disappearance.
Hicks was shot in the arm on the night Baxter went missing, and he initially told police he was robbed outside the Georgetown Walmart, but police found no evidence of a robbery or shooting there.
Baxter’s sister, Christa Crumley, wrote in a victim impact statement posted on Facebook that after Hicks’ relationship with Baxter ended, he made life difficult for her.
“We would catch him drive by and park in front of my house or her house knowing he wasn’t welcome at either place because of his behavior. He was overbearing, controling, stalking, and harassing her,” Crumley wrote.
She said her sister “tried to ignore it and move on, making the best of her circumstances in order to be there for her girls.”
In a video posted on Facebook after the sentencing, Crumley said she was happy with the outcome of the case.
“It feels good,” she said. “I’m happy. I think Sheena’s happy.”
“My opinion on sentencing used to be death, but over time I have thought long and hard on what Sheena would want for him,” Crumley wrote in the impact statement. “I believe she would want him to spend the rest of his life in prison until the day he died with no chance of parole. That way he could see how he made her feel, trapped and alone. And also he would never be a threat or risk to anyone else ever again. Let him be an example to others who behave the same way and may want to do the same to others. Show them justice will in fact be served! It is now forever my purpose to help prevent and stop this from happening to anyone else.”
Though Hicks will be eligible for parole, Judge Jeremy Mattox told Hicks in court that it was his opinion that he should not be granted parole and that he had not shown signs of remorse, WKYT reported.
