Roommate kills woman trying to evict him and stages death as suicide, Florida cops say

A man killed his roommate who had been trying to evict him, then made her death look like a suicide, Florida authorities said.

But a medical examiner said that despite Terri Williams being found face down in water, she had no water in her lungs because she had already stopped breathing.

James Hicks, 63, has now been sentenced in connection with the death of Williams, his 65-year-old former Publix coworker whom he lived with for eight years, according to Escambia County court records.

McClatchy News reached out to the public defender’s office for comment July 17 but did not immediately receive a response.

On Aug. 12, 2022, someone called 911 to report that Williams was face down in a shallow decorative water fixture in her front yard, according to an arrest affidavit from the Pensacola Police Department.

When investigators got there, they said Hicks “insisted” they look inside William’s car, where they found alcohol and a pill on the driver’s seat.

That day, Williams appeared in court on charges stemming from an argument between the two over Hicks refusing to move out, police said.

Video footage from a neighbor shows her arriving home, and then movement in the front yard a few minutes later, according to police.

Hicks told police that he found her face down in the water, but investigators said the 911 call came from someone else.

A medical examiner said Williams appeared to have died from a physical altercation, not drowning. She didn’t have water in her lungs, and she had broken ribs and abrasions on her body, investigators said.

Her cause of death was ruled to be asphyxiation.

Neighbors told investigators that Williams had said Hicks was abusive, and they often heard the two arguing, according to police.

“Over the course of the investigation, the evidence led to James Edward Hicks as the person who took the life of Terri Williams,” police wrote in the affidavit.

A jury found Hicks guilty of second-degree murder in May, and he was sentenced to life in prison July 16, WKRG reported.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

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