Skull found in SC [Identified as Crystal Hicks] (Husband Charged/sentenced)

[Audie]

Skull found could have a connection to a missing person's case

Thursday, Dec 13, 2007 - 08:19 PM Updated: 09:01 AM
By Kelly Gillespie

Marlboro County investigators could be closer to completing a missing person’s case that they've been working on for the past six years.


Marlboro County Sheriff Fred Knight told News13, the skull a hunter found last week in Darlington County could be that of Crystal Hicks, a young woman who went missing on August 9, 2001.

Now more than six years later Vivian Caulder could have the answer of what happened to her 18-year-old daughter.

"It's been rough, real rough. I was hoping one day it would come to this. To find out the truth about my daughter and now I think it's coming up," said Vivian Caudler, Crystal Hicks' mother.

Caulder said Crystal Hicks was last seen outside her home.

"I thought she was gonna come back. Now I know she ain't ever gonna come back," said Caulder.

Within the past week a hunter found a skull and deputies believe it could be hicks'.

"So many bodies have been found since 2001, and I just got this feeling it's her" said Caulder.

While Vivian Caulder said soon she may be getting the closure she's been wanting, ultimately it's not the answer she wants to hear.

"I’ve been hoping one day she would come back in this place. Then one minute I swear she's not coming back. That's what hurts the most," said Caulder.

The Marlboro County Sheriff's Office is working with Darlington County and SLED.

Darlington County deputies said they are trying to get in touch with an anthropologist.

It could take weeks or months to get it all confirmed.

Count on News13 to keep you updated on this story.

http://www.scnow.com/midatlantic/scp/news/crime.apx.-content-articles-BTW-2007-12-13-0021.html

[Audie]

http://www.theyaremissed.org/gallery/photos/C200301406W_275.jpg

Skull is missing woman's
Officials confirm Crystal Hicks, who went missing in 2001, was pregnant at time of death
Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 - 09:43 PM Updated: 07:58 AM
By Jamie Durant

Dental records have determined that the human skull found by a hunter in Darlington County is that of missing person Crystal Hicks, according to Darlington County Chief Deputy Tom Gainey.
Gainey said the remains did test positively as those of Hicks, however, the remainder of the investigation will be primarily in the hands of Marlboro County officials, since Hicks was from that area.
“The only thing we’re releasing is that (the skull) was positively identified as Ms. Hicks, who has been missing nearly seven years,” Gainey said.
Hicks disappeared Aug. 9, 2001, from her mother’s home in Blenheim. Marlboro County Sheriff Fred Knight said it was confirmed that Hicks was pregnant the night she went missing.
“I talked with (Vivian Caulder, Hicks’ mother) just a little while ago, and she basically said before (Hicks) left home that night, she told her she was pregnant,” he said.
But Knight said he doesn’t know if that will have an effect on the investigation at this point.
He said Caulder did inform officers of the possible pregnancy at the time of her daughter’s disappearance in 2001. But based on the recent discovery, there are plans to renew the investigation into what happened that night.
“Marlboro County, Darlington County and (S.C. Law Enforcement Division) SLED are going to be joining together and make an attempt to see if there are any other remains,” Knight said. “We might find some evidence in the wooded area.”
He said the discovery of her remains could be a key to unlocking the mystery of what really happened to Crystal Hicks.
“Pretty much what has happened, she went missing back in August of 2001, and we never ever came close to finding anything out about her whereabouts,” he said.
Knight said he hopes that people who knew Hicks will come forward with information that might help uncover clues about her disappearance.
“We’re just looking for any information about what happened to Crystal Hicks,” he said. “Please let the public know that we are pleading for any information or help.”
At this time, only the identity of the skull has been released. Knight said he hopes more information is forthcoming.
Anyone with information about the disappearance of Crystal Hicks is asked to contact the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office at (843) 537-6371. Knight said officers will make every attempt to protect the identity of callers.

http://www.scnow.com/midatlantic/scp/search.apx.-content-articles-FMN-2007-12-22-0006.html

[nanabillie]

Another sweet Carolina girl gone, forever. So, so, sad.

[Roamer]

I hope they look really hard at the guy who got her pregnant. Of coure, he may be innocent, but who else would have motive, unless it was a random killer?

RIP, Crystal. :1222423:

[Faith]

Experts face off in Hicks murder trial.

Mar. 8--VISALIA -- Whose expert do you believe? The question played itself out in day seven of the Mark Hicks trial in Tulare County Superior Court Wednesday, as attorneys on both sides attempted to cast doubt on the testimony of the other's expert witness. Hicks, 44, is accused of shooting and killing his wife, Crystal Hicks, in the couple's west Porterville home Dec. 11, 2005. He is charged with first-degree murder.

Prosecutor Afreen Kaelble has contended the shooting was intentional.

Defense Attorney Clark Hiddleston said his client accidentally shot Crystal Hicks. The chess match began when Kaelble recalled Department of ...

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160294117.html

[Faith]

http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160191078.html) Defendant takes the stand. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160191078.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; March 6, 2007 ; 700+ words ...up to his wife Crystal Hicks' death from a...it was a blur, Mark Hicks said. Mark Hicks...December Sunday as Mark Hicks -- who said he...began wondering. Crystal Hicks returned home...leave that night, Mark Hicks said. Because...cooking ...
http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-159914485.html) Hicks trial begins. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-159914485.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; February 28, 2007 ; 700+ words ...respective cases. Mark Hicks is accused...fatally shooting Crystal Hicks in the head...Tulare County. Crystal Hicks' mother, Rita...testify that Mark Hicks had abused...over money, Crystal Hicks' relationship with Mark Hicks' daughters...
http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160377647.html) Hicks guilty of murder. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160377647.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; March 10, 2007 ; 700+ words ...autopsy. According to Mark Hicks, the couple had...that suggested Crystal Hicks was romantically...after the shooting, Mark Hicks called 911, and...that he killed Crystal Hicks because she was...graphic pictures of Crystal Hicks' injuries and ...
http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-161975711.html) Hicks gets 40 years to life for murder. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-161975711.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; April 13, 2007 ; 683 words ...later said. Mark Hicks shot Crystal Hicks in the head...the weapon. Mark Hicks' attorney...an accident. Crystal Hicks' mother, Rita...a dozen of Crystal Hicks' family and...sentencing. Mark Hicks' parents and...
http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-159988710.html) 'I just shot my wife'. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-159988710.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; March 1, 2007 ; 700+ words ...pictures taken of Crystal Hicks' body after an...testified that Mark Hicks' fingerprints...where she and Mark Hicks discussed rumors that Crystal Hicks was engaged in...shooting during which Mark Hicks allegedly dragged Crystal Hicks out of ...
http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160242389.html) Experts take the stand in Hicks trial. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160242389.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; March 7, 2007 ; 654 words ...key details of Mark Hicks' defense attorney...accidentally shot Crystal Hicks in the head...Porterville. Mark Hicks is charged with...where the gun or Crystal Hicks was at the time...argued that Mark Hicks had a high tolerance...the shooting. Mark ...
http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160039555.html) Autopsy shows gun fired 'within inches' of victim. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160039555.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; March 2, 2007 ; 566 words ...the severe skull damage Crystal Hicks suffered from the fatal...taken during the autopsy. Crystal Hicks, Hartman said, died instantly...Thursday was Leslie Huckabee, Mark Hicks cellmate for less than a...2006, who testified that Mark Hicks told him if he knew how...had ...
http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-159722679.html) Hicks trial to start next week. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-159722679.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; February 23, 2007 ; 567 words ...wife will begin next week. Mark Hicks, 44, was arrested Dec. 11...Inside the home police found Crystal Hicks, 31, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. Mark Hicks has pleaded innocent to a...before Judge Gerald Sevier. Mark Hicks was also present in...with his ...
http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160342711.html) Jury to deliberate in Hicks murder trial. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160342711.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; March 9, 2007 ; 700+ words ...VISALIA -- The fate of Mark Howard Hicks is now in...Kaelble has argued that Mark Hicks intentionally shot his...affair. Clark Hiddleston, Mark Hicks' attorney, said his client...evidence clearly showed that Mark Hicks shot his wife after confronting...Porterville Police ...
http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-162660179.html) Mark Hicks' attorney files appeal. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-162660179.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; April 26, 2007 ; 270 words ...filed an appeal of the ruling. Mark Howard Hicks, 44, was convicted...2005, shooting death of his wife, Crystal Marie Hicks, in the living room...Avery Hiddleston, who represented Mark Hicks at the trial, filed a notice of...Hiddleston said, the court will appoint Mark Hicks a new ...

[Faith]

Hicks trial begins.

Article from:The Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) (http://www.highbeam.com/The+Porterville+Recorder+%28Porterville%2c+CA%29/publications.aspx)Article date:February 28, 2007 (http://www.highbeam.com/Search.aspx?q=Crystal+Hicks+skull+found%20pubdate: %5B20070225;20070303%5D)More results for: Crystal Hicks skull found (http://www.highbeam.com/Search.aspx?q=Crystal+Hicks+skull+found) |

Feb. 28--VISALIA -- The first thing that 12 jurors will hear Wednesday morning in a Tulare County courtroom is a recording of a Porterville man telling a 911 dispatcher on Dec. 11, 2005 that he just shot his wife. When the dispatcher asked why, prosecutors said Tuesday, Mark Howard Hicks told him because his wife, Crystal Marie Hicks, was having an affair with another woman. "Mark Hicks committed ... murder when he shot his wife Crystal," prosecutor Afreen Kaelble said.

The trial of Mark Hicks, 44, began Tuesday afternoon with both attorneys giving opening statements during which they outlined their respective cases. Mark Hicks is ...



http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160377647.html) Hicks guilty of murder. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160377647.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; March 10, 2007 ; 700+ words ...autopsy. According to Mark Hicks, the couple had...that suggested Crystal Hicks was romantically...after the shooting, Mark Hicks called 911, and...that he killed Crystal Hicks because she was...graphic pictures of Crystal Hicks' injuries and ...
http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-161975711.html) Hicks gets 40 years to life for murder. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-161975711.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; April 13, 2007 ; 683 words ...later said. Mark Hicks shot Crystal Hicks in the head...the weapon. Mark Hicks' attorney...an accident. Crystal Hicks' mother, Rita...a dozen of Crystal Hicks' family and...sentencing. Mark Hicks' parents and...
http://www.highbeam.com/Aspx/GetPubLogo.aspx?pub=Porterville+Recorder+%28Porter ville%2c+CA%29 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-159988710.html) 'I just shot my wife'. (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-159988710.html)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA) ; March 1, 2007 ; 700+ words ...pictures taken of Crystal Hicks' body after an...testified that Mark Hicks' fingerprints...where she and Mark Hicks discussed rumors that Crystal Hicks was engaged in...shooting during which Mark Hicks allegedly dragged Crystal Hicks out of ...


http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160377647.html

[Faith]

Byline: Aaron Burgin
Apr. 13--VISALIA -- A Tulare County Superior Court judge sentenced a Porterville man in court Thursday morning to 40 years to life in prison for the December 2005 murder of his wife in the couple's Porterville home. Mark Howard Hicks was emotionless as Judge Gerald Sevier ordered him to state prison for the maximum term, after his attorney argued unsuccessfully for a more lenient sentence. A jury on March 9 convicted Hicks, 44, of the second-degree murder of Crystal Marie Hicks after less than four hours of deliberation. Prior to the sentencing, Sevier lashed out at Mark Hicks, calling his act a "cold, calculated killing." "Your wife ...


http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-161975711.html

[nanabillie]

Great! At least a portion of justice.

[grammybears]

When are these people going to learn that you cannot get away with murder? It will eventually catch up to them. At least he is away from society. I do not feel sorry for any killers who take away the life of their victims. Final justice with be poetic imo.