Sacramento, CA: Ask Sacto911: Sacramento man killed girlfriend rather than baby sit child

last updated: May 07, 2010 12:08:19 PM
Q: Was anyone arrested for the murder of Jessica Smith in her apartment in Sacramento in the mid '90s? - Concerned, Fairfield
A: A Sacramento Superior Court jury convicted Correll Hicks Jr. of the Sept. 10, 2002 murder of Smith because she asked him to baby sit their child, The Bee reported.
Hicks, now 30, was sentenced on Sept. 11, 2004 to 26 years to life in prison.
Hicks, a man with a history of domestic violence, killed the 27-year-old Smith as she was trying to leave him, according to trial testimony.
Smith, a nursing student, was found dead at her U Street apartment in midtown Sacramento. She had been strangled and 6 inches of a towel was jammed down her throat.
Hicks, at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, stood 9 inches taller than Smith and outweighed her by 100 pounds. He erupted into a rage after Smith asked him to baby sit their child on Hicks' birthday, trial evidence showed.
He was found by police in the apartment with Smith. He had slashed his wrists, stabbed his abdomen with scissors and attempted to hang himself, his attorney said.
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