John R. Hicks - Crime

Crime

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hicks was a cocaine addict and alcoholic. He had purchased cocaine around 4 p.m. on August 2, 1985, but felt a further craving, so he took the VCR from his own home as security for a $50 purchase. He did not have the cash to redeem the VCR and so he knew his wife would become angry when she found out what he had done. He then decided to rob and murder Armstrong.

He telephoned Armstrong to say he was coming home. When he arrived around 11 p.m. he put his stepdaughter to bed. He then approached Armstrong from behind and strangled her with his own hands. To make sure she was really dead he used a length of clothesline. He searched her bedroom and stole $300 and some credit cards.

After buying more cocaine, he realized his stepdaughter would place him at the scene of the crime and could be a potential witness. He returned and smothered her with a pillow. When this failed to kill his stepdaughter, he tried to use his own hands, and then duct taped her mouth and nose. He attempted to dismember Armstrong in the bathtub, but gave up after nearly cutting one of her legs off. Returning to the body of Brandy Green, he removed her underpants and penetrated her with his finger. His last actions in the apartment were to steal a checkbook, a ring, a .32 caliber pistol, and a box of ammunition. After returning to his apartment around 3 a.m., he fled from Cincinnati at 6 a.m.. He would be later arrested in Knoxville, Tennessee on August 4, 1985.