Paul Hicks Convicted in 20-Year-Old Cold Case

0:00It's May 1st, this is Durham News Today, your AI-powered local news. In October of 2001, 25-year-old Regina Hicks vanished after going to pick up her 4-year-old son from a friend's place in. Willard, Ohio. Days later, her body turned up inside her white Camaro, sunk in a nearby pond. Her estranged husband, Paul Hicks, filed for divorce the very next day, kicking off a mystery that dragged on for decades until he got convicted of. Murder and kidnapping. Their high school romance turned toxic fast, with family saying, Paul dimmed Regina's bright spirit. That night, she argued with him at his buddy Steve Gates' property. Cops hit dead ends early, no solid evidence, and Paul dodged a polygraph after popping Xanax and Whiskey. The case went cold while he got tangled in separate arson and fraud schemes, pleading to lesser charges. Friends and family remember Regina as warm and protective. The kind who made you feel safe. Her son Montana, now 28, spoke at sentencing about losing both parents, saying he wants

1:02justice but no full closure without hard proof. The prosecution pushed that Paul killed her to dodge child support. A cold case squad from Ohio's Attorney General revived it years later, re-interviewing witnesses like Gates, who finally spilled that Paul knot. Regina out, drove the car into the pond, and left her to drown. After indictment in 2025, a two-week trial ended with Paul guilty on all counts. He's serving 25 years to life, but appealing as his teen claims it's all guesswork was zero forensics. This long-fought win brings some light to a dark chapter, showing cold cases can crack with fresh eyes.