The Secret in the Water

Summary

20/20: "The Secret in the Water" – Detailed Episode Summary

Date: May 2, 2026
Podcast: 20/20 (ABC News)
Host(s): Various ABC News Correspondents

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Overview

"The Secret in the Water" explores the extraordinary journey to justice for Regina Hicks, an Ohio mother murdered in 2001, whose death went unsolved for over two decades. The episode skillfully ties a contemporary arson case to the chilling cold case of Regina’s murder, unveiling layers of manipulation, domestic abuse, and deception that spanned decades and victims. Through candid interviews, courtroom testimony, and dogged investigative work—including a key confession, forensic reviews, and the persistent efforts of a family—and an unexpected true crime podcaster, justice is finally achieved.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Arson Case That Sparked Old Questions

• [00:54–04:13]

  • Fire crews respond to a house fire at 1:35 AM. The fire is so intense that flames are coming from every door and window.
  • Investigators immediately sense something is off—arson is suspected after gas cans are found inside.
  • The house is owned by Paul Hicks, a railroad foreman who isn’t present on the night of the fire.

• [04:25–07:31]

  • Paul Hicks provides police with surveillance footage that survived the fire due to being stored in fireproof gun safes.
  • Video shows two figures in Tyvek suits entering the house. The female’s hair and face are uncovered, unusually identifiable for a criminal act.
  • Hicks insists to investigators that the woman is his ex-girlfriend, Kelly, embroiled in a bitter child custody battle with him.

2. A Plot Unravels: Setting Up Kelly

• [08:31–13:34]

  • Investigators question Kelly and review alibi and phone records.
  • Significant discrepancies emerge: despite Hicks’ claim that Kelly called him repeatedly the night of the fire, her records show only minimal calls.
  • Evidence of prior vandalism (a chopped-up hot tub) is also presented as supposed proof of Kelly’s involvement, but Kelly fiercely denies everything, stating:

    “There’s no way that’s me. I was at my mom’s house sleeping, and she lives 30, 35 minutes away.” – Kelly, [13:18]

• [14:25–23:03]

  • Investigators uncover proof that call logs were spoofed using a service called SpoofCard—Kelly’s number was faked, and the true source is traced to a new woman Hicks had been seeing.

  • Purchases linked to this woman include a wig closely resembling Kelly’s hair and, astonishingly, a custom silicone mask of Kelly’s face ordered from “That’s My Face.”

  • This points to an elaborate attempt to frame Kelly:

    “A mask was purchased under this woman’s name. And it had all of these photographs of Kelly’s face…” – Legal Expert Zachary McCune, [23:03]

  • Hicks’ insurance claim for the fire is denied, and he is ultimately sued for fraud and loses a civil judgment.

3. A Deeper Darkness: The Cold Case of Regina Hicks

• [24:47–35:36]

  • The episode pivots to Regina Hicks—Paul Hicks’ first wife, who disappeared in 2001 under suspicious circumstances.

  • Regina’s white Camaro is found submerged in a pond, her body inside, position and physical evidence suggesting homicide rather than accident.

  • Key forensic findings:

    • Passenger seat pushed back; mud caked on body; shoe swipe marks inconsistent with Regina driving.
    • Autopsy reveals incapacitating blows to her head and drowning while unconscious.

  • Motive: Financial strain, custody, and Paul’s controlling nature are explored.

    “Paul Hicks did not want to have to pay child support for Montana once the divorce went through.” – Fire Investigator, [43:51]

4. Two Decades of Frustration and the Role of a True Crime Podcaster

• [45:14–52:24]

  • Regina’s family—especially her mother, Lasella—fights for answers, but the case stalls for years.

  • The cold case is shaken up by "Allegedly with Ashley Ford," a true crime podcast. Ford’s investigations lead to renewed media and law enforcement attention.

    “I don’t like when things are unfair. If I see something that’s solvable, I can’t leave it alone.” – Ashley Ford, [51:07]

• [54:07–55:13]

  • Evidence of attempts to set up Regina before her death (a planted drug tip called in by Paul’s friend, Stephen Gates) further underscores a pattern of framing and manipulation.

5. The Confession That Changes Everything

• [56:03–63:23]

  • Under renewed pressure, Stephen Gates, Paul’s longtime friend and property owner where Regina was last seen, finally confesses after 24 years.

  • Gates, in exchange for immunity, reveals:

    • Regina arrived to pick up her son and got into a heated argument with Paul.
    • He later saw Paul telling him Regina was dead in the car. Rather than call for help, Paul coerced Gates to help dispose of the evidence, driving Regina’s car—containing her body—into the pond.
    • Gates had stayed silent for years out of fear.

    “Steve Gates was the key to solving this case all these years.” – Narrator, [64:03]
    “I’m glad Steve Gates came forward. …and here’s the truth.” – Prosecutor, [63:45]

6. Paul Hicks’ Arrest, Trial, and Verdict

• [64:26–73:50]

  • Paul Hicks is arrested and indicted for murder and kidnapping after Gates’ full confession.

  • The trial’s primary evidence is Gates’ testimony, corroborated where possible by physical and circumstantial evidence.

  • Despite no DNA or direct forensics, the circumstantial and eyewitness evidence, along with motive, provides a compelling case.

    “The jury finds the defendant guilty.” – [80:17]
    “That was a great moment when they said guilty. …Finally, we got justice. And Paul’s reaction was priceless.” – Family member, [80:34]

7. Aftermath and Reflections

• [81:38–85:14]

  • Regina’s family finally receives closure. Kelly regains custody of her own son, Daniel.

  • Montana, Regina and Paul’s son, delivers a complicated victim impact statement expressing his pain and the dual loss of both parents.

  • Paul Hicks is sentenced to life with parole eligibility after 25 years.

    “I want her to be remembered as Montana’s mom… She loved him. She would have loved him deeply.” – Family member, [84:29]

  • Hicks has since filed a notice of appeal.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the arson framing:
  “They got this Tyvek suit to cover themselves up. But the hair and the face are exposed right on camera.” – Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune, [06:52]

• On the mask purchase and framing:
  “Who even does that? This is not the movies.” – Kelly, [23:41]

• Regina’s legacy:
  “She would do anything for anybody. She was just caring and she loved her family.” – Kelly, [84:37]

• On the final verdict:
  “The jury finds the defendant guilty.” – Fire Investigator/Police Officer, [80:17]
  “Finally, my baby’s home. We’re safe. He’s where he belongs.” – Kelly, [81:41]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• The 2015 Arson and Investigation: [00:54–14:25]
• Spoofing, Mask and Discovery of a Frame-Up: [14:25–24:47]
• Connecting to Regina Hicks' 2001 Case: [24:47–35:36]
• Regina’s Disappearance & Crime Scene: [35:09–43:03]
• Trial and Ultimate Justice: [67:30–84:13]
• Victim Impact and Final Sentencing: [82:05–85:07]

---

Conclusion

This episode is a masterclass in investigative storytelling, following how dogged persistence, forensic details, and, unexpectedly, the reach of a true crime podcast finally unraveled a web of manipulation and murder. It captures the enduring pain of familial loss, the impact of rumors and abuse, and the dogged determination to see justice served—even after 24 years. The central theme: evil actions ripple outward, but so does truth in the hands of those willing to uncover it.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Kelly]

It was after one in the morning.

[Investigator/Reporter]

We heard this popping sound.

[Kelly]

We didn't know what was going on at first. And I looked out the back door and we could see the flames coming out of the house over here. And So I called 911. Just to think that it could go

[Family Member/Friend]

up that fast, it's horrifying.

[Kelly]

I just figured the whole house was going to go.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

We had a call roughly 1:35, give or take a few minutes for possible structure fire.

[Narrator]

Structure fire.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

When we hear structure fire for a call, it's kind of just dangerous for everybody. It kind of clicks you over into, like, it's game time. Everybody just kind of jumps out of bed, starts putting their gear on, and we jump on the truck and take off.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

They respond urgent because you just never know if there's people inside the home, if there's anybody trapped, how rapidly the fire is going to spread.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Of course, you're glued to the window because you want to see what you're pulling up to, coming down the street. You can see it because there's fire out of every door and window. It was coming out of the garage, the picture window in the front, the front door kind of looked like a movie because inside you can see everything in real life, it's never like that. And something else could be going on. Might not be just the typical accidental fire. Kind of made you think, okay, there could be something more to this. It's definitely had a jump on us.

[Narrator]

This fire is really just the beginning. It's going to connect back eventually to another case. A murder case that happened about 100 miles away.

[Investigator/Reporter]

A mystery that had gone unsolved for many years.

[Narrator]

A man accused in multiple crimes decades apart.

[Kelly]

It's one of the region's oldest lingering questions.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

Who killed Regina Rowe Hicks?

[Kelly]

That mother was found in a Huron county pond. He didn't just take her life. He messed with everybody's life.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Calculated, deviant, evil.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

They were dealing with a monster.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

We got a call in at 1:35am we were there within 10 minutes rolled up, had fire coming out of almost pretty much every window. We deployed our hand lines and started knocking the fire down from there. You don't know if someone's inside of the house that's on fire, to put it simply. How long could you hold your breath? Not very long.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

They don't necessarily know that the homeowner is not there that night. It's in the middle of the night. There could be people sleeping in here.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

To two different crews. One went up and then we went downstairs. We didn't find anybody.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

No victims in the house. No one is there.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

We crossed through the living room and we crawled over. I believe it was a five gallon gas can. And during the search, I crawled over another gas can that I believe was in a bedroom. Something's not right. And he went and told the fire chief and he had the arson team dispatched to investigate the fire.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

And they requested the Claremont County Sheriff's Office to come up and to handle the investigation in conjunction with some of the fire investigators because they believed it to be an arson.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

The owner of the home was a gentleman named Paul Hicks. He had purchased the home about six to seven months earlier.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

We learned that it was an investment type of home. He didn't specifically live there, but he would stay random nights.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

Ohio is a suburb of Cincinnati, but you are just on the edge of getting to farmland.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

Mr. Hicks was a railroad foreman and he would specifically work around parts of Ohio, fixing crossings or intersections of the railway. And he worked for a company, csx. Fire investigators were trying to reach out to the homeowner. Once contact is made, he identifies that he's in a hotel up in Bluffton, Ohio, where he's been staying throughout the week for his job. And very quickly he identified that he had a surveillance system within his home and also on the exterior of the home, pointing towards the residents.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

This surveillance had survived the fire, and we were told that it survived because it happened to be in two fireproof gun safes.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

So eventually, Mr. Hicks shows up at the fire scene. He helps us retrieve that DVR system.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

The camera system had four cameras. One outside in the back, one outside in the front, two inside. The DVR that the footage was on was extremely well preserved for having been in a fire.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Investigators they have all of this surveillance video which is a little bit uncommon.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

The two people approach and they first come into the view of the camera. It appears that it's about 1 14ish in the morning, 115 in the morning. When they initially show up. It's an infrared camera. So it's kind of black and white, but it appears that they're wearing some sort of like Tyvek suit.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

The male arsonist has a couple of gas cans with them, and they walk up to the house and they come right to the front door.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

They go into the house. It doesn't appear anybody kicks the door or does anything like that. They kind of walk meander through the house. But one of the subjects in the house, who we believe is a male, carries out a tv. They carry it out the back door. So they got this Tyvek suit to cover themselves up. But the hair and the face are

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

exposed right on camera. A camera angle that she walks under. She has all this long, curly blonde hair that's hanging out. The male does the majority of the pouring of the gas that could be seen on surveillance

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

and ultimately ignited the house on the backside.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

You can see how quickly it goes up. You essentially had kind of like an explosion in the middle of the fire which pushed out the front of the building. It is an absolutely massive fire.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

Paul Hicks is very stern in his beliefs. Right away, as we're reviewing the surveillance,

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

he has his theory and he identifies the female arsonist that's definitively her. And he's identifying her based upon her size, her facial features, her hair, what her nose looks like.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

That person stopped, looked at the surveillance camera, and almost looked at the camera in a sense of, here I am, this is who I am.

[Investigator/Reporter]

After immediately pointing the finger, he's also saying that she's done this before.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

He's basically saying that she is violent out to get him and she would do this type of thing.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

That was kind of our first level of what's going on here. It kind of made us think twice.

[Investigator/Reporter]

There are some odd things that are immediately apparent to the investigators as they're looking through all of the surveillance video that they have.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

Didn't pass the smell test, if you will. They take precautions to cover themselves up. But the hair and the face are exposed, and the hair is almost laying on the shoulders in display. If your hair was that unique, why would you not take the time to conceal it?

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

You would typically think that if someone's committing an arson and there's neighboring properties and potential witnesses, that they are going to be in and out, do it quickly, get out. And that's not what you see on the video for this fire.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

They definitely seemed very calculated and very smooth in their moves.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The owner of this house, Paul Hicks, he immediately tells them that he believes that the woman in this video is his ex girlfriend, Kelly. He Says they've been having problems, especially child custody issues. And he immediately points police in her direction.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Okay, it's June 18, 2015, approximately 10:10. I'm at reference a house fire determined to be incendiary fire with the homeowner, Paul Hicks.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

Mr. Hicks had told us that he had had a bad relationship with the mother of his child. His ex, Kelly has been blowing him up. Blowing him up for multiple calls. Continued just told her, stop calling me.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

And then she called, I think, 95

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

times in a row.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Okay, and this was last night? Yes.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

When we got the phone records back, it appeared that Kelly's phone had called his phone in excess of 100 times. So you've had some problems with her in the past?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Oh, yeah.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

She has been threatening to you in the past? Oh, God. Yes.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

Paul had said that this isn't the first time that Kelly has been out to damage my house. And he's saying, I also have this on surveillance, that she came out to my property. She actually came out twice in one day.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

You got the video of her chopping up a hot tub two months ago. This is when she did that.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

You referenced a prior criminal damage that had happened at that same residence earlier in the year. That kind of supported his reason why he said he needed the surveillance system. And with that hot tub incident, it was very similar. The hair was on display. The body type was the same. Because of the prior hot tub incident, Goshen Township Police Department had put a warrant out on the ex.

[Investigator/Reporter]

So at this point, investigators want to confront Kelly, and they set things up with Paul Hicks to have her meet him for a child custody exchange of their son.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

We did that at Kroger's. Once she went there to meet him, we arrested her on the outstanding warrant.

[Kelly]

So I didn't do anything wrong. So I'm handcuffed like a criminal.

[Narrator]

I have no record at all.

[Kelly]

What you have is a criminal damaging warrant. So it's not, you know, you haven't gone out and killed anybody or anything. It's just a criminal damage warrant. Okay, well, can you take these off? No, I have to leave the cuffs on, unfortunately. But I did nothing.

[Narrator]

From that day forward, she remains anonymous, never publicly revealing herself. Until now. Right here, too, it was. I sat down with Kelly to talk about all of this. Her first time on national television, and she remembers this day very clearly.

[Kelly]

Before I know it, both are. Both my doors were open, and there was taser guns pointed at me and my mom's head.

[Narrator]

And what are they saying?

[Kelly]

They didn't tell me Anything until I got. After they arrested me.

[Narrator]

What are you thinking is happening?

[Kelly]

What did Paul do? Yes, it's being recorded. Is that cool?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Oh, yeah.

[Kelly]

Good.

[Narrator]

Authorities obscured Kelly's space in this video.

[Kelly]

Now, do you have your records from June 17th that night? Yeah. Cause the records I find is that you made a lot of phone calls to him. You guys have been texting back and forth on the 17th. So this was the night before the fire. Here's the whole text message conversation.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

Okay?

[Kelly]

I know he's, you know, he's talking about Hayes gonna go for full custody and all that stuff. And then after that, after. Between about 8 o' clock and 10 o' clock that night, there's numerous, numerous phone calls from your phone to his phone. Oh, no, that's what I was just showing you right here. I never called him at all after. The last time that I spoke with him is at 6:25. Okay. And after that, his number's nowhere. I never called him at. So there was no phone calls? None. Zero.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

None.

[Kelly]

I never called him at all.

[Narrator]

They tell you about a woman who was caught on tape who looked like you? What are you thinking?

[Kelly]

There's no way that's me. I was at my mom's house sleeping, and she lives 30, 35 minutes away.

[Narrator]

Did it resemble you from what you can see from a distance? From a little bit.

[Kelly]

If you didn't know me, you'd be like, oh, that might, you know, like, yeah.

[Narrator]

So was your head spinning like, who could this be?

[Kelly]

Yes, it was wild.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

She was surprised and she was very stern and adamant that she had no involvement in the arson and that hot tub incident.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

She said just, I was in bed. I wasn't out, you know, out in the country in Goshen committing this arson.

[Investigator/Reporter]

This is the girl that is right.

[Kelly]

They're trying to say it's me, but it's not me. And here's the obvious. And you guys do resemble each other just like the eyes, the cheeks and the eyebrows. Other than that, I don't have that distinctive chin.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

So after the Kelly interview, we start trying to just do our background on both of them. We learned that neither one of them were really in the area of the residence. She told us she was over in the Norwood area, which was consistent with the records we got. And Paul Hicks told us he was up in the Bluffton location, and we were able to verify that too.

[Narrator]

If it's not Paul who's there, and it's not Kelly who's there, who is this woman? Investigators are about to uncover something that is pretty stunning.

[Kelly]

Kept telling people like before the final straw, telling you he's going to do something's going to happen.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

The results come back is to this day is the most incredible response I've ever gotten.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

It's in black and white. That was the game changer for me for sure.

[Narrator]

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[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

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[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

I am Zachary McCune. I'm a partner with Rolfus Henry, which is a law firm in Cincinnati, Ohio. A significant portion of my practice relates to fires and explosions and representing insurance companies in relation to those.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Zach McCune is not someone who's got the same powers as a police officer, but he emerges as the super sleuth of this case.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

You have a very small universe of people who could have been involved in this. It's either him or it's her. Kelly was extremely cooperative. She came in and gave a voluntary sworn statement.

[Narrator]

Kelly tells me that when she first met Paul, she thought he was the kind of guy she'd been looking for.

[Kelly]

He was tall, he was handsome, and he just. He was funny. Dance, dude.

[Narrator]

Did you feel like you kind of had met a prince Charming or a guy who was. Could possibly.

[Kelly]

I did. I've never met anyone who had, like, seemed like they had their life together. I ended up pregnant within. Within three or four months.

[Narrator]

That had to be a surprise.

[Kelly]

Yeah. So.

[Narrator]

But he wanted you to move in with him?

[Family Member/Friend]

Yes.

[Narrator]

And did you know right away that you wanted to stay with him? What were the plans?

[Kelly]

Oh, we were excited at first, you know? Cause I thought, oh, you know, at the beginning, all that. Everything's perfect, you know, until things start to show.

[Narrator]

Kelly says she and Paul would be on and off again for the next seven years, connected by their son Daniel. Even as she says their relationship grew more volatile.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

She told us about prior domestic violence scenarios.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

There was an incident where he, from her perspective, threw a gas can at her and said, I wish you would burn. There was an incident where she said he left the bar, came home, took her clothes out in the front yard and lit them on fire.

[Narrator]

Paul denies those domestic violence allegations and was never charged in connection with them.

[Kelly]

He would break stuff, or he would say he's gonna get custody and things like that. And I was just. I was just done. And he knew it.

[Narrator]

So it was an ugly breakup.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Investigator/Reporter]

This fire comes at a really pivotal time in the relationship between Paul and Kelly. They've broken up. They share a child, and they are at a flashpoint in their child custody battle where it's about to be time for child support payments to be coming from Paul Hicks.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

And then another concern was there were these really odd cell phone communications the night of the fire. His iPhone's incoming call logs show that she had called him 90 some odd times. But then her cell phone records came back, and it showed that she only had five cell phone communications with him that night.

[Kelly]

They pulled the records, and they figured out wasn't me.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

So that's really where the ball got rolling. Like, what's going on here?

[Narrator]

At first glance, it appears somebody is going to great lengths to harass Paul Hicks. But then investigators begin wondering, could that person be Paul Hicks himself?

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

When we realized that the hard records didn't match, somewhere along the line, in a conversation with Kelly, there was mention of spoofing. Spoof card.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

What SpoofCard is, it's a company that would allow you to change the number that shows up on their caller id

[Narrator]

how did you know that he was using that?

[Kelly]

I've seen him do it. He told me so.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

Spoofcard's legal compliance were actually great in responding. All that information comes back. This program was used. This is the real number that made all those calls. They faked Kelly's number. That was not Kelly.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Once investigators have this piece of the spoofing of a phone number, they're able to trace it to an IP address. And that IP address belongs to a woman who they don't know much about and how she's connected to this case.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

It takes a number of subpoenas to figure out who this woman is. She comes in, and he says, yes, I do know Paul Hicks. We were in a relationship, but I don't have a cell phone. I don't have any cell phone communications. I had this relationship. We go our separate ways. I don't know why people are asking me about the fire, and I just want to be done with this kind of a thing.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

We believe the phone was originally purchased by the female, but it was in the hands of Paul Hicks.

[Narrator]

Paul admits to using apps like SpoofCard in the past, but denies having anything to do with those calls. Investigators begin digging into the background of the woman who says she dated Paul. They start pulling her records, and they discover some unusual purchases made under her

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

name in her financial records. There was a purchase for a wig at a store called Kay's Wigs.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

A wig almost identical to Kelly's hair.

[Investigator/Reporter]

And they find something that's even more stunning of a purchase than the wig.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

This $368 purchase from a company called that's My Face.

[Investigator/Reporter]

This is a website where someone can give a photograph of any individual and that company will print out a mask of that person's face.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

And we were able to send a subpoena to that's My Face. And the results came back. To this day is the most incredible response I've ever gotten from a subpoena. It showed that a mask was purchased under this woman's name. And it had all of these photographs of Kelly's face. A number of these pictures we had seen either on Paul Hicks physical cell phone or in his social media accounts.

[Narrator]

They find a custom made mask that is made to look like you. What the heck did you think was going on?

[Kelly]

I was in shock. Who even does that? This is not the movies.

[Narrator]

For his part, Paul Hicks has denied any connection to the purchases of that wig and the custom mask.

[Investigator/Reporter]

You have the surveillance video, and you have a woman who's looking at the camera with curly hair out and face bare. It makes you put the pieces together. That could be the reason that she was fine with showing her face on camera.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

The insurance company, they decide that there's no coverage for the claim for this fire. Paul Hicks sues them for breach of contract and bad faith. And then Allstate countersues him for, among other things, fraud.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The civil lawsuit ultimately ends in favor of the insurance company, Paul Hicks.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

He agreed that there would be a judgment against him and in favor of Allstate for $400,000.

[Narrator]

So the civil case is wrapped up, but investigators are still considering criminal charges in that fire. And across the state, another set of investigators are also looking into Paul Hicks.

[Investigator/Reporter]

A decade or so earlier, he was connected to something much darker that was still unsolved.

[Narrator]

Did you start to think that he could be capable of murder?

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

They were dealing with a monster.

[Narrator]

After Kelly's arrest, Paul Hicks, her ex, files for temporary custody of their son. Kelly says even as investigators began to doubt her role in the fire, the allegations still followed her for years in family court.

[Kelly]

He tried to destroy my whole world, and he got away with it for a long time, taking my son from Lisa.

[Narrator]

He essentially had your son, Daniel?

[Kelly]

Yes. It was horrible. It was like, he's everything to me. It took two years just to be able to see him without supervision. You want to tell me that I need supervision for my own child?

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

The initial allegations and accusations against Kelly Pertaining to the arson. We never ended up charging her. We never got to a point where we believed that she was the person held responsible. The hot tub incident, she wasn't the person involved in that. And those charges were ultimately dismissed on her behalf as well.

[Investigator/Reporter]

After the civil case is over, criminal investigators are able to charge Paul Hicks with aggravated arson, perjury and insurance fraud. Paul Hicks pleaded not guilty to that.

[Narrator]

Are you thinking now that he's going to be held accountable? Maybe he's going to go to jail?

[Kelly]

Hopefully finally, you know, justice is finally happening. 43 year old Paul Hicks accused of organizing the elaborate scheme to have his

[Narrator]

house set on fire.

[Kelly]

Deputies say Hicks told them his ex girlfriend was one of the two people. But detectives say she is innocent and they do believe that Hicks is behind this plot.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Paul Hicks was making a lot of headlines in Ohio for the arson case. What was actually happening? Not too far from there is another type of investigation that involves something that happened back in 2001.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

Mr. Hicks was originally from Willard, Ohio or Huron County. I ended up speaking to the elected sheriff. They told me that from 2001 they had a victim by the name of Regina Hicks, who was Paul Hicks first wife and she was a victim of a homicide.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Willard is rural, it's a railroad town. It's a hard working town

[Kelly]

not too far from Cedar Point. Everybody knows where that's at. Everybody knows everybody. If you want to know something about somebody, just ask somebody, they'll tell you.

[Family Member/Friend]

Regina was a tomboy. So she was used to working on like four wheelers and dirt bikes and things like that. And she enjoyed it. Her parents bought her a Grand Am. We would drive around the back roads and listen to country music. Hank Williams Jr. Regina Love, that was her favorite. You would feel protected around Regina. She would always make you feel safe, wanted, loved.

[Kelly]

Regina met Paul Hicks in school and they started dating each other. I think she was like 16.

[Investigator/Reporter]

They went on after high school to get married. They had a son together.

[Kelly]

Regina was a great mom. She would take Montana everywhere. She would.

[Family Member/Friend]

Once she met Paul Hicks, Regina couldn't hang out as much. And when we did hang out together, Paul would always have to be there.

[Kelly]

She had to sneak and see us before Paul.

[Family Member/Friend]

She was loud, happy and more vocal. Paul made her more silent, more small.

[Narrator]

Then at some point there's a fire that happens at their home.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

There's a fire at their house in the the summer of 2001. The fire happened around 11 o' clock at night. Paul Hicks decides, I'm gonna go fishing. Regina goes with him. When they come back, the house is on fire. It was determined that it was an electrical fire that started in the bathroom shortly after they left.

[Family Member/Friend]

Regina was really upset about that fire. Her dad's things that she was given to remember him by was in that house.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

After they split the insurance proceeds of $60,000, they start to live separate lives and she starts to do her own thing.

[Family Member/Friend]

That money really changed Regina's life. She was able to break away from Paul and get some independence.

[Kelly]

She finally started acting like herself again and doing stuff and buying stuff and going places with the money.

[Family Member/Friend]

She went and she bought a white Camaro.

[Kelly]

She wanted a fast car and everybody knew that that was hers. There wasn't any other white Camaros in town.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She was ready to turn the page on the chapter of Paul Hicks and just living it up.

[Kelly]

She finally met somebody. She had filed for divorce and she was smiling like herself again, laughing.

[Narrator]

It's a clear, crisp October evening in 2001. Regina Hicks has got her car, she's got her freedom, and she's got plans for the evening ahead.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She is expecting to pick her son up from Paul Hicks. Then she is going to go to her mother's and drop off her son and then end the night with a guy that she is dating. With a night on the town, she

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

has to pick Montana up.

[Narrator]

At 8 o', clock, our mutual friend

[Family Member/Friend]

called me and asked me if I had heard from Regina or if I had seen Regina. She was supposed to go pick up her son. And Montana was 4 years old. She did not pick up her son.

[Kelly]

She would have never left Montana. There's no way she was gonna leave her little boy and not pick him up when she was supposed to.

[Investigator/Reporter]

No one believed that Regina would just disappear on her own. And everyone was on the lookout for her signature white Camaro. Where was it? Where was she?

[Family Member/Friend]

Almost instantly you knew something was really bad.

[Kelly]

Regina hicks, you have 10 unheard voice messages. Give me a call with the other 20 people who are looking for you. I don't know where you're at or where you are.

[Narrator]

Four days have now gone by since Regina Hicks has gone missing. And understandably, her relatives are frantic with worry. This is my son's field right here.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

He had a four wheeler. He rode around to the end of the property.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

And when he come up on top

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

of the pond here, he seen something

[Narrator]

out in the center of the pond, Something that was unusual.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Yep. He just didn't know whether it was

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

a plastic bag or what. But it's something that shouldn't have been there and come up the farm and

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

told me

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Monday morning we came down here. He reaches down the water up to here. And we was thinking maybe it was a jet ski.

[Narrator]

But you didn't know.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

We didn't know.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

And he said, dad, it's not a jet ski.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

And so I run up the farm

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

and got a chain real quick

[Kelly]

and

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

we hooked onto it and he drove the truck.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

When he started to pull, I was standing on the bank and I hollered at him, oh, it's a car. I drove to the farm and called the sheriff.

[Investigator/Reporter]

All of the different agencies descend on this scene.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

You had the Huron County Sheriff's office, the crime scene unit, bci, Willard Fire Department, and the divers.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

The diving team go into the pond to determine if there was a body in the pond.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

They tried to search the driver side compartment, and they initially thought they may have felt something, but they realized it wasn't anything. And then they went to the passenger side of the vehicle and reached in and felt the shoulder of a person. I said, do we have a body? And they're like, oh, yeah, we have a body in there.

[Narrator]

So when they pulled this car out, it's a white Camaro. Regina drove a white Camaro?

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Correct.

[Narrator]

It's pretty clear they found Regina's body.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Absolutely.

[Family Member/Friend]

My mom called me late and she says, lisa, I need you to promise that you're going to stay home. But they think they found Regina's car and just your heart just drops.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

People are showing up, standing out the yellow tape line at the street.

[Kelly]

They said they found a car in a pond. And then when we all got out there, it was Regina's, but she was on the passenger side. They didn't cover her up until everybody saw

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

because of the people there. We left her in the car and we just towed the car to the local police station.

[Family Member/Friend]

When you find out that she was left in that car, and I know they had a protocol to follow, but it's just. It's a sickening feeling.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

We put it in a garage bay, removed her from the car there and sent her to autopsy.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The next thing that is really critical to the case is the positioning of her body inside of that car.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

Her feet were clearly underneath the passenger side console.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

For her to start in the driver's seat and float over and end up in that position, probably next to impossible odds that meant someone else was driving. When it went in the driver's side, the seat appeared to be pushed all the way back. She was a smaller person, so obviously somebody bigger had driven the car, she

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

was covered in mud to the point. Point of being caked inside of the back of her folded jeans. Mud inside the back of her boots.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

There were no gunshot wounds, stab wounds, anything like that. There was some minor bruising, but nothing that really stuck out.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Deputies started to trace the steps of Regina the day that she disappeared. One of the pieces of evidence from the vehicle included some receipts. One where she went shopping at JCPenney.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

She went shopping to Mansfield, Ohio with her boyfriend, Mikey Perkins, and then went back to town to drop Mikey off. She was supposed to pick up Montana at 8 o' clock at the Steve Gates property where Paul was located. Steve Gates would be Paul Hicks best friend. They did everything together.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Steve Gates tells police that Paul Hicks was at his house with their son Montana, and they were all waiting for Regina to come pick up her son. But he said that never happened.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Obviously that was completely out of the norm. Paul Hicks was a person of interest. And Mikey Perkins, her new boyfriend, was also a person of interest.

[Narrator]

Paul Hill.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Paul is someone that the investigators want to talk to. And they tell him to come down to the sheriff's office.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Regina was supposed to come pick up Montana at Steve's house.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Yeah. And she never showed up. Never showed her.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

What'd you do with Montana? I took it back to my sister's

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

and I figured if she was gonna show up, she'd show up there, show up the next morning.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Paul had an alibi. He indicated that he tried to get ahold of Regina. When she didn't show up on time, ask me.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Paul, should you be here at 8:39, give me a call. Bye.

[Kelly]

End of message.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

You said earlier you thought maybe she just didn't show.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

She was maybe partying or something.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Yeah.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Bars, people's houses, wherever there's a party. He was putting a lot of impetus on.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

Well, she did drugs, so this could

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

have been, you know, she getting drugs. And it didn't go right. I don't know if she was taking it or was.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

She was in bill. She'd be at the house. If she didn't sell then. Well, she got busted today, which didn't charge her. What kind of drugs she. I charged her with nothing.

[Family Member/Friend]

Regina didn't do drugs. So none of that made sense.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

She's got a Dominic Twist direct. I guess you could say that she don't want to see me here.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

No emotion to the fact that. But she's deceased now. So there was observations and behaviors there that made you wonder exactly where he was coming from.

[Narrator]

And now investigators are also about to Get Regina's autopsy back, which will reveal just how she died.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Was she deceased prior to going into the water? Or was she alive and then drowned in the car?

[Kelly]

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[Investigator/Reporter]

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[Kelly]

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[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

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[Kelly]

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[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

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[Kelly]

our award winning mattresses. Shop the Memorial Day sale now and get up to 20% off at avocadomatress.com or select retailers nationwide. Visit avocadomatress.Com that's avocadomattress.com this episode is

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home in auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. We're on the property of the Huron County Sheriff's Office. And so here today, what we have is, we have the Camaro that Ms. Regina Hicks was driving back on October 18, 2001.

[Narrator]

This is the car that was pulled from the lake?

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Yes, ma'.

[Narrator]

Am, 20 plus years ago.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Yes.

[Narrator]

It's still covered in mud inside and outside out. Pretty much preserved, it looks like. What did you notice right away?

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

When I started looking at the vehicle, obviously I realized that the passenger side seat was laid back and the vehicle was actually stuck in second gear and the driver's side window was down.

[Narrator]

And Regina's positioning in the passenger side of the car convinces investigators that she was placed there by someone, then driven into the pond.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Whoever drove the car was pretty big. The wheels tilted up, so they needed space. Knowing that they had to get out of the car. The door was closed, so they crawled out the window once it was in the water. This is the actual shoe Regina was wearing.

[Narrator]

You saw a shoe print somewhere?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Yeah.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

And it was a swipe. Okay, so you got a swipe. So what the anticipation was is that her upper torso would have been placed inside the vehicle here if she had

[Narrator]

been driving this Car. There's no way her foot would be swiping this side of the door, getting into the car on that side.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Correct.

[Narrator]

This essentially was your smoking gun to prove that this was a homicide.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

This was a very, very key piece of evidence to show and prove that Regina was not driving this vehicle and that she was put in the passenger seat.

[Narrator]

And the autopsy results also support the theory that Regina didn't end up in that pond by accident.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

There were three strikes on the top of her scalp. Those strikes were not hard enough strikes to where it would physically kill somebody, but they were strikes that could ultimately incapacitate somebody.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

We also knew that when she went into that pond, she was unconscious, but she was alive because of the fluid that was inside her nose cavity. She was breathing in the water from the pond. The toxicology report was negative. She had no drugs in her system.

[Narrator]

While investigators were looking into Regina's boyfriend at the time, Mikey. Turns out he had an alibi and was cleared of any involvement in Regina's murder.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Paul Hicks is at the top of the list. For officials who are digging into this. They're hearing from family members of Regina who say that there were troubles in their relationship. There are also red flags that investigators are seeing when it comes to that custody battle.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Paul hicks did not want to have to pay child support for Montana once the divorce went through. Custody of war.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Yep. If you give me joint custody, I'm giving you everything you want. The furniture, everything. And she said, okay, I'll do that. She decided to change her mind. She's not going to give me joint custody. Somebody told her she's not going to get child support If I get 20 custody. It's just been a pretty nasty affair, huh? Yep.

[Narrator]

Two days after sheriff's deputies sat Paul down for an interview, they asked him to come back in, this time for polygraph.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

First of all, I guess I'm gonna ask, Are you willing to take the examination?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Yeah. I'm gonna ask you something else.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Sure.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Absolutely. Does it matter if you've been drinking or if you're giving up pills?

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Well, it depends what type of pill you're taking.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Three number 10 Xanaxes. Xanax. How much have you had a drink today? A couple shots of beanie.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The polygraph examiner immediately determines that he's not going to be able to actually do the polygraph test because the inebriation would invalidate the results.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

And as the investigation moved forward, everything continued to lead to Paul Hicks. But there was nothing to definitively link him to the crime. No admissions, no DNA So it's a hard case.

[Family Member/Friend]

And then as time passed, we would stop getting information. That's why Lasella kind of started doing more of the investigating herself.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Regina's mother. Lasella is desperate to find answers.

[Kelly]

Lasella put up all kinds of billboards and talk to news stations. We just want justice. Somewhere, somebody knows something. It's just a matter is the people afraid to speak up.

[Family Member/Friend]

She full heartedly believed that Paul murdered Regina.

[Narrator]

Paul's mother also spoke to the media.

[Kelly]

I know Paul didn't do this. I raised Paul. I know what kind of child Paul is.

[Family Member/Friend]

Lacella was also trying to get custody of Montana. Montana legally went to live with Paul, but he was actually living with Paul's mother. Paul's mom raised Montana. Lasella would buy birthday presents and Christmas presents for Montana every year, hoping she would be able to get to see him and give them to him herself. And it just never happened.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Tell me about your mom.

[Kelly]

She used to buy me toys a lot.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

You miss her, huh?

[Kelly]

Liselle was strong. She wasn't gonna give up until she got justice for her daughter. She just ended up getting cancer. Before that happened, I mean, she was pretty sick. She only weighed about 87 pounds. La Sala told me to never give up on finding who did it to Regina, who killed her. I mean, even till she died, she kept. She kept fighting.

[Family Member/Friend]

She never got the answers that she was so desperately seeking for.

[Investigator/Reporter]

And this case goes cold. There's not any development in it for over a decade.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

I was assigned to the Special Investigations Unit. The Huron county sheriff at that time asked us to take over the Regina Hicks cold case homicide. So bci, we accepted that request and then started the investigation.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

The sheriff provided us with all the investigative material. We had boxes and boxes of investigative files that were all transported back to our office here at bci.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

In this world of investigations, we tend to look at patterns with Paul's relationships after Regina's passing. There's that consistent pattern there of mental and physical abuse. He finds women, he pays them attention, maybe buys them things. And then when he's done, he moves on to the next adventure and still wants to control their lives, as he did with Regina.

[Narrator]

When you heard about those details, broken relationship, you know, domestic violence, a custody battle. Did you start to think that this is a real pattern with this man?

[Kelly]

Oh, yeah. It's all control.

[Narrator]

In the seven years that passed between Regina's death and Paul meeting Kelly, she says rumors swirled around him.

[Family Member/Friend]

Did people.

[Narrator]

Did people say anything to you about.

[Kelly]

Oh, he would leave the room and people would Come up behind me like, you know, he killed his wife.

[Narrator]

I'm like, what people would say to you, yes, he killed his wife, and what did you think?

[Kelly]

I'm like, what the hell? And then, you know, he'd be like, oh, people just. They're just jealous of me. That's all that is.

[Narrator]

That was Paul's story, but BCI was actually looking into him for Regina's murder. And then he's indicted on architecture charges for that Claremont county fire back in 2015.

[Kelly]

I actually thought, well, if he doesn't go to prison for killing Regina, at least he'll go to prison for arson.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

Paul Hicks eventually pleads to an insurance fraud, and he's sentenced to probation.

[Narrator]

It's a break for Paul. The perjury and arson charges are dropped.

[Family Member/Friend]

He just has to pay back the insurance company that he defrauded. And it was a huge letdown.

[Narrator]

How'd you feel?

[Kelly]

I just shot down, broken again. Waited for so long, and nothing.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Paul wasn't being held accountable for everything that Paul was doing, and people were getting tired of it.

[Narrator]

But things are about to change. Someone new steps into the picture. Who's going to shine a light on Regina's cold case?

[Family Member/Friend]

Regina deserves somebody to fight for her. I'm Regina's cousin.

[Kelly]

We grew up together.

[Family Member/Friend]

We'd have, you know, slumber parties, get togethers, and we would just have so much fun laughing and talking.

[Kelly]

When Regina would laugh, it would just light up a room.

[Family Member/Friend]

I miss that sound. Knowing the person that you love is murdered and that everything seems to be pointing to her husband, but there's no evidence. It's frustrating and it's hard.

[Kelly]

Good evening. Welcome to Allegedly with Ashley Ford.

[Family Member/Friend]

Ashley Ford is a podcaster, and for some reason, you either really love her or you just don't like her.

[Kelly]

My podcast is called Allegedly with Ashley Ford. I have no criminal justice background. I have no law enforcement background. I don't like when things are unfair. If I see something that's solvable, I can't leave it alone. You know, I'll take a look at this.

[Investigator/Reporter]

She's someone who looks closely at unsolved cases. Ashley Ford calls herself a troublemaker. And she's someone who is controversial, especially to law enforcement. She goes further than just talking about it on her podcast. She calls out people.

[Family Member/Friend]

One of my friends was like, wow, Ashley's really riling people up. And I'm like, ashley who? And she's like, ashley Ford. So she's like, you gotta check it out.

[Kelly]

People started asking me to look at Regina Rohik's case

[Family Member/Friend]

going to Ashley Ford. We had nothing really to lose because nothing was happening. What would it hurt getting somebody talking about Regina. Regina deserves somebody to fight for her.

[Kelly]

Regina's mom, Lisella Holbrooke, had a massive file of everything that she could get her hands on for 15 years. I looked at the files and I agreed with them. It was enough.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

It's been 24 years since Chad Rowe got a call. His sister Regina was found dead in a pond. And now local podcaster Ashley Ford wanted to help find out.

[Kelly]

I wanted to see if we could get some attention to a cold case that definitely deserves justice. I think most of the family felt like finally somebody's listening, opening doors. I'm investigating a case that is 23 years cold and it makes it a little bit difficult specifically for the main reason I wasn't there in the beginning.

[Family Member/Friend]

Ashley was pretty much recapping everything we had already known.

[Kelly]

This is one of the more intricate and information laden cases that I have ever done.

[Family Member/Friend]

It didn't start getting more interesting until later on when she was doing more digging.

[Kelly]

Everything kept coming back to Stephen Gates.

[Narrator]

He was Paul's good buddy during the time bff.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Back in the day. They were as tight as you could get.

[Kelly]

Regina was supposed to pick up her son from her estranged husband at Stephen Gates home.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

She was supposed to pick my son up.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

She called me at 7:53. That's what my cell phone said.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

I don't know exactly what she exactly said, but she goes, I'll be there.

[Kelly]

It was Steven Gates and Paul Hicks testimony in 2001. She never showed up. I pulled every report I could find that mentioned Paul Hicks and Stephen Gates

[Narrator]

and she finds something pretty interesting. A sheriff's report from just weeks before Regina went missing.

[Kelly]

We have to consider this tip that was called in like 30 days before Regina actually was found dead.

[Narrator]

In September of 2001, Regina Hicks is pulled over by Willard police. They search her car and they find marijuana and pills. She says she believes that they were planted by her estranged husband to try to set her up. Regina is never charged.

[Kelly]

I realized that Stephen Gates called in a tip that Regina was coming back with a load of drugs, told them exactly where she was. It looked to me like they were trying to get her arrested.

[Narrator]

And remember, Paul had mentioned this to investigators when he first talked to them.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

She had marijuana and she was going to Kentucky.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

And she got busted though. Well, she got busted here in Willard.

[Kelly]

Stephen Gates is the property owner of property that Regina was headed to when she went missing. If it were my daughter, I would want to expose whoever had to be exposed to get to justice.

[Investigator/Reporter]

And she, she doesn't back off of sharing his name publicly in a way that hadn't been shared before.

[Kelly]

I found that releasing the information about Stephen Gates brought more information for him behind the scenes.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The Bureau of Criminal Investigation there in Ohio, they are also simultaneously working on their own criminal investigation.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

We had a very long list of individuals that we wanted to interview or re interview to include Steve Gates. We needed to ask the tough questions. Did you see her there? Can you tell us if she was there?

[Narrator]

But he hasn't said anything all these years. Why is he suddenly going to talk now?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Well, we felt that he would. We had to try.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

He.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

I called Bernard Davis, his lawyer, talked to him on the phone, set up a meeting.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Steve had been holding this in for 24 years.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

He said, I'm ready and I need to tell you everything that happened.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

At that point, he becomes very emotional. I sold my car in Carvana last night.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Well, that's cool.

[Kelly]

No, you don't understand.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

It went perfectly.

[Kelly]

Real offer down to the penny.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

They're picking it up tomorrow.

[Kelly]

Nothing went wrong.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

So what's the problem?

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

That is the problem.

[Kelly]

Nothing in my life goes as smoothly. I'm waiting for the catch.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

Maybe there's no catch.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

That's exactly what a catch would want me to think. Wow.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

You need to relax.

[Kelly]

I need to knock on wood.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Do we have wood?

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

Is this table wood?

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

I think it's laminate.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Okay.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

Yeah, that's good.

[Kelly]

That's close enough. Car selling without a catch.

[Family Member/Friend]

Sell your car today on Carvana.

[Kelly]

Pick up.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

Fees may apply.

[Investigator/Reporter]

What would you do if your online store converted 36% more shoppers? You could take 36% more vacation.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Another pina colada.

[Narrator]

Yes, please.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Open a new retail location with 36% more square feet.

[Kelly]

Fantastic.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Hire 36% more help.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

You're hired and you're hired.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Shopify has the world's best converting checkout up to 36% better than other e commerce platforms. What you do with those extra sales is up to you. Switch to Shopify [e-mail] setup and get a $1 trial. Shopify.com setup.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

There was a date and time that was set up for special press. Our investigative team to meet with Steve Gates in Mansfield, Ohio. When we arrived there, there was somewhat of a hesitation of how the meeting would go. What is he going to say? One of the first things he said is, I'm ready and I need to tell you everything that happened.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

He Wanted to give us information of what actually happened the night of the incident, which is what we've been waiting for and praying for, I guess the whole time. For it actually to come was pretty exciting.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

His lawyer told us, look, my guy's going to give you Paul Hicks. But he wants immunity after 24 years

[Investigator/Reporter]

earlier, he told them her Camaro never arrived on his property. Steve Gates wants to make sure that he has immunity so that he doesn't get charged in any way for lying to police in the initial investigation.

[Narrator]

What does he tell you?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

So they made an arrangement where Regina's going to pick Montana up. He had just turned four. So Regina drives to Steve Gates's property, parks her car and and immediately gets into an argument with Paul Hicks. The two are yelling at each other. He tells us that he had seen and heard so many arguments between the two of them, he didn't want to get involved in it. So he walked into his garage, he turned on wiot and was turned on his tractor and was working on his tractor.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

Eventually he came out of the barn and he noticed Regina Hicks's white Camaro was now parked in a different area of the driveway, closer to the road. According to Steve Gates. He said he's seen the dome light on, he's seen the passenger side door open and he's seen Paul Hicks standing next to the passenger side door. He noticed that the driver's side window was down. He looked in, he seen Regina, questioned what was wrong with her. And according to him, at that time, he was told that she was dead.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

When he gets to that point in his interview, the emotions really hit Steve and he becomes very emotional.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Steve Gates immediately says, you gotta call 911. We gotta get her help. Paul Hicks says no. They get into a little argument.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Paul told Steve, you're now involved and we need to get rid of this.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Paul Hicks gets in Regina's car. Steve Gates gets in Paul Hicks's car with Montana in the back seat sleeping.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

According to Steve Gates, he eventually followed Paul Hicks to the pond location where, according to Steve Gates, Pa Hicks drove the white Camaro into the pond.

[Narrator]

So he drove her into that pond, jumped out of the car, escaped the car himself, left her there to die.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Correct.

[Narrator]

And then got back in the car with Steve Gates.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

On the way back to Steve Gates house, Paul Hicks calls Regina. It's me calling the. Should you be here at 8839?

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

Steve Gates said I couldn't understand why he took his phone out and called Regina Hicks's cell phone. Well, that would make sense why her phone records indicate a call after the time she was supposed to pick her son up.

[Narrator]

What was Steve like, revealing all of this?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Very remorseful, emotional remorseful. And I said, well, who else have you told? He said, well, other than my lawyer, I haven't told anyone.

[Narrator]

He lived with this information all these years.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Correct.

[Narrator]

And never shared it?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Correct. I said, did you tell your wife? He said, no. I said, you're going to tell her tonight.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

So he had been carrying the information that he knew within himself for decades out of concern for his own safety and well being. I of fear for his family, for his children.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

And then I come around the corner, okay? And that's when I was like.

[Investigator/Reporter]

As a condition of this immunity deal, Steve Yates has to provide investigators with a tour of his property where Regina Hicks would have been hurt.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

They were, like, standing maybe here somewhere. I just remember this little quail. They were in this little. And they were like. They were, like, yelling at each other.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

And you were over there. So when you came out of the garage, where were they at down there?

[Kelly]

Down by the fence or behind the dump trailer?

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

I just remember being, like, amped up and just not thinking clear at that

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

point because I'm like, right, you know,

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

you're involved and everything else, you know, and just hauling.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

You think you were standing by the car with hits minutes, and then you get in his car and follow.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

He was very specific, and we were able to corroborate that.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

The Attorney General, Dave Yost, and Prosecutor Sirley got together, had a discussion. The agreement was made that we would give him immunity. Nothing he could say to us could be used against him unless he lies to us. I'm glad Steve Gates came forward, and

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

I think it did take some courage to say, yeah, I sat on this

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

and here's the truth, and he gets points for that.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

But it wasn't courageous to ask for an immunity deal. Wasn't courageous to say, talk to my lawyer. He was a witness.

[Narrator]

Steve Gates was the key to solving this case all these years.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Correct.

[Narrator]

And once he gave you his story, everything changed.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Everything changed.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

All right, we're lighting them up.

[Narrator]

And now, after two decades, 24 years, everything is about to change for Paul Hicks.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

So what am I being arrested for? All right, here we go.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

He's been walking the streets.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Going to go right over here to the cruiser.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

He's been vacationing in Hawaii with a girlfriend. Vacationing in Florida with a girlfriend. He's been living his life for 24 years while Regina's been encased in a coffin. Outside of Willard, Ohio, April 22, 2025. He's indicted.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Paul, I don't know if they told you yet, but we had a warrant for your arrest.

[Narrator]

Nobody's told me this.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

So there was an indictment.

[Narrator]

So Paul Hicks is finally arrested.

[Kelly]

Finally.

[Narrator]

What did you think?

[Kelly]

I had a panic attack because I was excited and terrified at the same time.

[Narrator]

Charged with the murder of his wife. You filed for emergency custody, by the way.

[Kelly]

Oh, the very next day. And I went straight up there and got Daniel.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Oh, I don't think he saw it coming. And I think it was a surreal moment for us at that point. Paul was ultimately transported back to the Huron County Sheriff's Office and myself and Chris attempted to interview Paul.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Disrespectful to me. What you need to do and show

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

me the charges so I can make my phone. Do you want to know what the indictment is?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

No, I want to make my phone call.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Okay.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Yeah.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

So we would like to talk to you about what that remains. I don't want you. So you don't want to have anything to say? I have nothing to say here. I got my phone call. They were supposed to bring my phone, which I know is a lie. They're not going to. Well, you'll get your phone call when you get into the jail.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Oh, I'm not in the jail.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

No, this is a. This is an interview room. Take me to jail. So. So yeah, you're going to go.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

You're not running the show here longer.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Remain silent. Well, then that's fine, that's fine. And we'll get to you when they

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

get time to get together. Well, I know I said in the

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

cars, we don't get. I know you don't. Well, it's all about you, Paul. Yep. We then had first hand knowledge on how he treated people because he didn't want to hear what we had to say either. It was all about the control for him. Which was what I expected going in there.

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

Correct.

[Kelly]

Paul Hicks is accused of killing his ex wife and the mother of his child, Regina Rose.

[Narrator]

The day after his arrest, Paul Hicks pleads not guilty to the murder and kidnapping charges. 24 years later, what was that moment like for you to come in and now make this kind of a leap? In a long cold cake, I had

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

made arrangements for two of Regina's family members to meet with them. They were emotional and that something's finally been done. At least now ruined the system. At least now she's been charged.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Now a jury is finally hearing a case over what happened to Regina Hicks. 24 years is a long time to wait for a case and a trial to get started. There's a big question that hangs over it of what's different now.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

This was a case that was made without any forensic evidence. No DNA or no DNA, no fingerprints, no hairs, straight witness testimony and some circumstantial evidence.

[Narrator]

What was your biggest worry? Going to trial?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Cooperating with Steve Gates told us the jury almost had to believe Steve Gates.

[Narrator]

All rise, please.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Right out the gate. During the opening statements, the prosecution lets the jury know that their star witness is a known liar.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Steve Gates discussed what happened on October 18th, but he lied. He's going to get upon the witness stand and he's going to admit to you that he lied. He lied to the sheriff's department. He lied for 24 years.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The prosecution laid out for this jury the potential motive for Paul Hicks to kill Regina. He had lost his job, had blown through a lot of that insurance settlement money that they got from the fire at their home, and he was getting closer to having to pay some steep child support payments to Regina.

[Narrator]

The defense doesn't make an opening argument.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Correct. That was the first time in 37 years I've experienced that.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

All right. Mr. Casser is your first witness.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

There was a lot of information that came to light in regards to Regina Hicks and Pa Hicks relationship.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Was he controlling?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

As far as their relationship went, yes.

[Kelly]

Like, she would only talk to her mom when he wasn't home and she

[Investigator/Reporter]

was kind of wanting to end things

[Family Member/Friend]

because she knew he was with gsa.

[Kelly]

He pretty much told her that nobody had wondered if he could have a. Nobody could.

[Courtroom Official/Polygraph Examiner]

There were a lot of witnesses, a lot of family and friends that had first had knowledge and had seen not only these domestic altercations, but the emotional abuse that they say Regina Hicks endured throughout this relationship.

[Kelly]

He was always yelling at her, fighting with her.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Did you.

[Kelly]

Did you witness an incident like four

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

or five months before her death that turned physical?

[Family Member/Friend]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

He pulled her hair and smacked her other house.

[Narrator]

Prosecutors have got a witness contradicting Paul Hicks claim that Regina never arrived at Gaytz's place.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Jimmy Patrick, Regina's uncle, he had saw Regina's car at Steve Gates's house around 8 o' clock on that Thursday evening, October 18th of 2001.

[Kelly]

I was driving by Yates house.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

I just glanced over and looked at that. Looks like her car. When you'd seen that car, you said it was getting dark.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Yeah, dusky dark.

[Narrator]

At the time, Jimmy Patrick's statement couldn't be corroborated by investigators.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Statement called Crystal Hits.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

So Crystal Hicks, that is Paul Hicks's sister. So she was very reluctant to speak with investigators. Getting off of work the night of the 18th of October, 2001, she actually got home earlier than what she had anticipated. Paul was living at her house at the time.

[Kelly]

I came home to a mess in my house, and I was headed to the bathroom and he tried to cut me off.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Who's he?

[Kelly]

My brother. He said it was a mess, I would be mad.

[Narrator]

And when I proceeded to go to

[Kelly]

the bathroom anyhow, his muddy clothes were floating in the bathtub. He had been trying to clean him.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

And how much mud was in the bathtub?

[Kelly]

A lot.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Have you ever seen that much mud before?

[Family Member/Friend]

No.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

And who was at your house when you came home?

[Kelly]

Steve Gates and my brother.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

And what were they doing?

[Narrator]

Steven was sitting on the couch.

[Kelly]

And like I said, I think I surprised them both because I got up earlier than normal.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Did you notice anything about the defendant's face or neck area?

[Kelly]

He had scratches on his.

[Family Member/Friend]

I believe it was his neck or

[Kelly]

part of his face. Somewhere in this area.

[Family Member/Friend]

He said a tree of bone and scratched him.

[Narrator]

At the time Regina disappeared, Paul Hicks had moved on. He had a new girlfriend. And she's about to tell the jury something unusual. She remembers him telling her.

[Kelly]

He told me that. That there were ways to beat a lie detector test.

[Investigator/Reporter]

We are following a once cold case out of Ohio. Courtrooms can be really intense places. You had a packed gallery of people who were supporting Paul Hicks and Regina's loved ones. They were all there in the same space, waiting to see if there was going to be justice one way or another.

[Narrator]

It's day three of testimony, and the jury is hearing from Jansen Phipps, Paul's girlfriend at the time of Regina's disappearance. And she remembers some strange things from that night.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

What happened after you went to bed?

[Kelly]

I went to sleep. I woke up and Paul was gone, but I didn't think anything of it and went back to sleep.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

What did he tell you about money boots?

[Kelly]

That he had a pair of muddy boots from the day that Regina went missing because they were digging the pond and he put him on his sister's back porch and somebody stole him.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

He gets up in the middle of the night, he does something with the boots. She also testified to what he did that weekend. They went to a dance. They were together Friday night, Saturday.

[Narrator]

Even though his estranged wife is missing.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Correct.

[Investigator/Reporter]

Jansen Phipps, on the stand, told this jury that she remembers conversations from Paul Hicks where he said that he could beat A polygraph examination.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Did he talk to you about things

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

like breathing techniques, things like that?

[Kelly]

Yeah, he had a book. I feel in my memory like it had a yellow covering. It was a softback. It wasn't a hardback book, but yeah, it was. How to Beat a Lie Detector. Told me he was just trying to protect himself.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Did he also watch crime shows?

[Kelly]

We watched a lot of like Forensic Files and just shows about how people would get rid of evidence and things like that.

[Investigator/Reporter]

During cross examination, the defense was able to highlight the things that the prosecutors lacked.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

There's nothing that you found when you reviewed the DNA to implicate Paul Hicks, isn't that true? There's nothing at all that I can compare to anybody. It's just simply not sufficient for comparison purposes. You didn't find any DNA of Paul in the car?

[Kelly]

I didn't find any DNA of anybody.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Nothing to implicate Paul in regards to the testing of the soil sand?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

That's correct. Okay.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

There was no DNA linking Paul to this case?

[Kelly]

Yes, sir.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

You would agree with me that there were no hair samples that linked Paul to this case?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

That's correct, sir.

[Investigator/Reporter]

During the cross examination of the sheriff, the defense asked a lot of questions about why there are all of these other potential suspects who were not investigated further.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

You testified you're trying to rule people out. You got her best friend friend telling you she's having sexual relations with four guys. And you don't send anything to BCI in regards to those four men? We did not send anything in regards to those four men.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

That's right.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

So then as you sit here today, you didn't rule out those four potential men as suspects in this case. Nothing led us to believe those four people were suspects.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The defense was really suggesting that these investigators had tunnel vision when they came locked in on Paul Hicks.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Paul, I don't know if they told

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

you that we had a warrant for your arrest. Okay?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Nobody's told me this.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

The state conceded that Steve Gates has lied for 24 years. Is that your position?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

That's what I've been told you.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

And you can't rule out as you sit there that he is going to lie tomorrow.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

I can't. No, sir, I can't. State's next witness, Steve Gates, who does not want to be recorded in any way. All right?

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

No audio, no video for this witness.

[Investigator/Reporter]

In the state of Ohio, they do allow cameras inside of the courtroom, but if a witness wants to opt out of being shown, the court will grant that.

[Narrator]

So this guy can comes to court and he's lied to law officers before, and now you are asking a jury to believe him.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

You have to have credibility with the jury. You can't pull punches or try to pull a wool over anyone's eyes. And that's what we said about Steve Gates. Look, he's a liar. He lied in 2001. He lied in 2002. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, but he's not lying now.

[Family Member/Friend]

Sitting in the courtroom, I was. That was the one testimony I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear from Steve's mouth what happened. And we would get answers. We would know.

[Narrator]

Gates tells jurors exactly what he told investigators. That Regina did in fact come to his home to pick up her son and that she and Paul got into an argument.

[Investigator/Reporter]

He said he saw Regina's body crumpled on the floorboard of her Camaro. Stephen Gates said Paul Hicks told him that she is dead. Gates doesn't mention that he in any way was involved in Regina's death. But he does say that he followed the instructions of his friend and that he did keep his mouth shut.

[Family Member/Friend]

He gave the bare minimum information, but it was more of what he left out. It's like, you know, where was Montana at during this time that they were fighting? I mean, you're not going to ask what happened? What did you do? He could have gotten help. Somebody could have called 911.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Mr. Rich, are you ready with your phone?

[Kelly]

Yes, sir.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

All right.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Make your seat.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The defense highlighted that he had multiple opportunities over the years to tell the truth to police and that he continued to say that Regina was never there.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Their whole case is based upon speculation and conjecture.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The defense spoke to the jury for the first time during their closing arguments. He said the prosecution's case is full of holes and did not have any substance.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Remember back in the 70s or 80s with the where's the Beef commercials? Where's the beef? Where's the beef? Let's get to the beef in the case. Zero for residential forensic evidence linking Paul to the alleged crime scenes. More importantly, far more importantly, zero forensic evidence to corroborate the scientifically unverified fiction of charlatan Gates. Lying was an Olympic event. That guy wins the gold, the silver, and the purple br. Thank you.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Your Honor.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

Thank you. Are you prepared with your revolt?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Yes, you, Honor.

[Investigator/Reporter]

The state, in their closing argument wanted to make sure that the jury understands that everything in this case points to Paul Hicks and no one else. If not Paul Hicks, then who?

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Motive, motive, motive. That's what's about here. Regina's independence Regina wanted child support. Regina wanted custody. Regina fought back. You won't fight back against Paul Hicks at this time. Then we will take a time for

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

the jury to begin their deliberation.

[Investigator/Reporter]

When everything is in the hands of the jury, it's one of those anxious moments because you never know.

[Kelly]

All right, please.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

All right, folks, we have breaking news out of Ohio.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

The jury has reached a verdict in

[Lead Investigator/Detective]

the murder trial of Paul Hicks.

[Investigator/Reporter]

There are some cases where jury deliberations can take days, weeks. But in this case, this jury came back within three hours.

[Kelly]

All right, please.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

The emotions that you have as an investigator when you're sitting there waiting for the verdict, I truly can't explain. In the State of Ohio vs. Paul Daniel Hicks, the jury finds the defendant guilty.

[Family Member/Friend]

That was a great moment when they said guilty. It was a huge weight lifted, a big sigh of relief. Finally, we got justice. And Paul's reaction was priceless. He just threw his head back like he couldn't believe it.

[Kelly]

The Rowe family have suffered immensely. They've gone so many years without any. To be able to watch them get that verdict, it seemed like justice. It was like probably the best Christmas present ever. My sister La Sala and Regina loved Christmas. And after Regina got killed, La Sala never celebrated Christmas. So for them to do it and they were playing Christmas music outside, it was kind of like, perfect.

[Narrator]

What was that moment like for you?

[Kelly]

Winning. Finally, my baby's home. We're safe. He's where he belongs. He's going to be where he belongs.

[Narrator]

For Kelly, life is finally moving forward. Though amazingly, to this day, investigators haven't definitively determine who the two people were that set that fire.

[Investigator/Reporter]

After the verdict comes down, then is the matter of sentencing. This is the opportunity for the victim's loved ones, Regina's family, to be able to address the court and share some things that they haven't been heard publicly on for over two decades.

[Family Member/Friend]

I made sure I made eye contact with him. I would lean in so he would know I was talking to him. Regina was intelligent, far more intelligent than you. She had a rare kindness and a heart that would have only grown stronger with time. I wanted Paul to know how angry and horrible all this was. She would have made a real impact on this world.

[Narrator]

During sentencing, Paul and Regina's son, Montana, is offered an opportunity to speak. He doesn't come in person. He gives a letter to a victim's advocate to read.

[Investigator/Reporter]

When he gives his victim impact statement, he reminds the court that he is the victim who lost the most. Here I can't escape this to me, there is no justice as to to lack of evidence. Nothing has been solved and nothing will be until the truth comes out about who really did this to my mother. He also says that now I have to hear what has to be decided for my dad. Do I feel like he should be punished? No. But anyone who committed a crime should pay. I lost my mom and now I'm losing my dad.

[Family Member/Friend]

I'm glad that it was solved. I'm glad that people are talking about Regina again. But I just hate that her son is learning all the things that he's learning and in so much pain.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

You know, I think we need to realize what Montana's been through throughout this entire, not only this entire process, but the last 24 years and what he's going to have to live with for the rest of his life. There is no reason for any leniency in this case. The defendant had the benefit of roaming free for the last quarter of a century before facing justice here today.

[Prosecutor/Attorney]

Paul Hicks is sentenced to life in prison with a possibility of parole after 25 years. 15 years for the murder and 10 years for the kidnapping.

[Family Member/Friend]

I want her to be remembered as Montana's mom. She loved him. She would have loved him deeply.

[Kelly]

She would do anything for anybody. She was just caring and she loved her family.

[Family Member/Friend]

I want people to remember that she was a human, not just a victim. And there's so much that she could have accomplished and been had Paul not taken that from her.

[Narrator]

So many lives alter, David, by the acts of one man. Regina Hicks would have celebrated her 50th birthday this year.

[Legal Expert/Attorney Zachary McCune]

It's been hard for her loved one.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

She's been gone 25 years now. And we should note tonight that since his conviction, Paul Hicks has filed a notice of appeal with the court. That's our program for tonight. Thanks for watching. I'm David Muir.

[Narrator]

And David and I'm Debra Roberts. From all of us here at 2020 and ABC News, good.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance.

[Narrator]

You chose to hit play on this podcast today.

[Fire Investigator/Police Officer]

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