Local News
Woman charged with former Berea man’s murder
In what the victim’s mother calls a three-day crime spree, a former Berea woman has been indicted for killing her husband and setting fire to her sister’s home.
Geneva May Brown Hicks was arrested Wednesday after a Taylor Grand Jury charged her with murder, second-degree assault, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, first-degree arson and three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment.
The grand jury charges that on May 1 in Taylor County, “in a continuous course of conduct,” Hicks intentionally caused serious physical injury to another person — identified in the indictment by the initials S.C. — using a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument.
The indictment claims on that same day, Hicks also unlawfully restrained the woman “under circumstances which exposed that person to a risk or serious injury.”
According to court records, Hicks allegedly beat another woman who was at her home with her fist and kicked her, causing injuries to the woman’s neck, arms and legs, reported the Central Kentucky News Journal. The arrest citation states that Hicks allegedly kept the woman in her home for more than two hours.
The woman was taken to Taylor Regional Hospital for treatment of a possible broken nose, broken tailbone, several cuts and bruises and a possible concussion.
Hicks is accused of killing her husband, Randolph Scott Hicks Jr., 43, the next day.
Police received a complaint about 3 p.m. on May 2 reporting a “fight in progress” in Geneva Hicks’ Campbellsville home, according to a report from Campbellsville Police Officer Jason Simpson.
When police arrived, a female came out of the home and reported that her husband had shot himself, the News Journal reported.
Simpson said he entered the home and found Hicks’ husband with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The couple’s 2-year-old son was inside the home at the time of the incident and was later taken to Geneva Hicks’ sister’s home on White House Road.
The grand jury charged that Geneva Hicks caused her husband’s death, “not acting under influence of extreme emotional disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse or under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, including ... the operation of a motor vehicle wantonly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death to (the victim) and caused the death of (the victim).”
Several hours later, Geneva Hicks allegedly made threats against some of her family members and arrived at her sister’s home about 9:30 p.m., according to a report obtained by the News Journal.
Police said she knocked on several doors and windows and tried to get her sister to come to the door, but when no one came to the door, she allegedly set fire to the house.
The grand jury indicted her for first-degree arson for allegedly starting a fire to an inhabited building.
Three people were inside the home when the fire started.
Hicks was lodged in the Taylor County Detention Center. Her bond has been set at $20,000 full cash.
Shirley Hicks of Berea, mother of Randolph Scott Hicks Jr., said her daughter-in-law’s actions are hard to comprehend.
“It is so awful that somebody that you knew, someone that was part of your family for so long, could go into a rage like that,” she said.
Hicks said the couple was together for 19 years.
Her son was a caring and tender-hearted man, Shirley Hicks said.
“He had the ability to build any kind of house or building you put in front of him,” she said. “He was a hard worker.”
Kathy Moberly, Randolph Hicks’ sister, said no words can explain how her family has felt in the past few months since his murder.
“It is a journey that never seems to get easier,” she said in an e-mail to the Register.
“He will always be remembered in my heart and I can still hear him say ‘I Love You LiL Sis,’” the e-mail read.
Lorie Love can be reached at llove@richmondregister.com or 624-6690.
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Berea men arrested for robbery
Berea police arrested two men in connection with a March 8 robbery at a check-cashing business, a spokesman said Monday.
Shawn Burns, 32, was charged with first-degree robbery and misdemeanor receiving stolen property, while Bradley Lamb, 21, was charged with complicity to first-degree robbery and misdemeanor receiving stolen property, said Capt. Ken Clark, Berea Police Department spokesman. -
City seeks proposals for Gibson Bay Cafe
The operation lease for Gibson Bay Cafe expires at the end of May, and the City of Richmond will be accepting bids for the operation of the restaurant from the public until Friday, March 26.
Gibson Bay Cafe, which is located at Lake Reba Recreational Complex on the Gibson Bay Golf Course, is owned by city commissioner Bill Strong and his wife Jeanie Strong. -
Reports of home burglaries keep Richmond police busy
The new owner of a mobile home on Bradbury Pointe reported to Richmond police Friday that appliances had been stolen from the home.
A stainless steel refrigerator, a white stove, a white microwave and a three-ton Trane heating and air conditioning unit were discovered to be missing from the home on March 7, said Chief Larry Brock. -
Parents upset about test scores, deficiencies
The frustration was evident in the voices of a number of Berea Community School parents who spent more than an hour Monday night addressing the Berea Independent Board of Education.
The parents spent most of the evening talking directly to middle school/high school principal John Masters about a lack of communication with school personnel and asking for answers about how the district intends to correct a number of deficiencies identified by the state in a December audit. -
Time to stand up, be counted
Madison County households will be receiving questionnaires in the mail today through Wednesday from the U.S. Census Bureau which is carrying out it constitutional mandate to count all U.S. citizens every 10 years.
Letters were mailed last week advising household to be watching for the census questionnaire, according to J.C. Barbour, the bureau’s media specialist for Kentucky. -
‘Sunshine Boys’ dedicated to Kerby’s memory
The late Dr. Clifford Kerby, former mayor of Berea, was a longtime supporter and often an actor in community theater.
One of his favorite plays, in which he played one of the two lead roles for the old Berea Community Theater back in 1977, was “The Sunshine Boys,” said his wife Diane. -
Two chances to meet, hear candidates
“You can’t tell the players without a program,” vendors at old minor league baseball games used to yell.
With so many local candidates in the running for election this year, voters may know too little about them to make an informed choice, some observers have remarked.
However, two Madison County organizations have scheduled events for Thursday evening to help clarify who the candidates are and what they stand for. -
Local group to meet on skate park on Tuesday
A local group seeking to build a public skateboard park in Richmond will conduct a public meeting next week in downtown Richmond.
Skate Richmond, KY is a non-profit group founded in 2007, according to group member and local attorney Wesley Browne, and is interested in constructing a public skateboard park in downtown Richmond. -
Lots of ‘energy’ at expo Saturday
Gloomy weather and college basketball did not keep people away from Saturday’s Madison County Home Energy Expo at the Perkins Building on Eastern Kentucky University’s campus.
The second-annual event, hosted by Madison County’s University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension office, moved to the EKU campus this year after last year’s event was conducted at Glenn Marshall Elementary School. -
Kentucky Blood Center collection Tuesday in Berea
Kentucky Blood Center will conduct a blood drive on Tuesday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Union Church in the Community Room, 200 Prospect St., Berea.
Every volunteer who presents to donate blood with the Kentucky Blood Center (KBC) will have a chance to win a trip to the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four games. One winner will receive a package for two that includes hotel stay April 2-6 and tickets to the Final Four (April 3) and Championship Games (April 5) in Indianapolis. The drawing will be conducted on April 1. - More Local News Headlines
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Berea men arrested for robbery
