SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — A man accused of killing his girlfriend in 2020 entered a not guilty plea in court Monday afternoon.
This was actually the second time Joseph Hicks pleaded not guilty to the murder of Sheena Baxter.
Hicks was re-indicted due to the fallout from an accusation by a former judge, Brian Privett, that the Commonwealth's Attorney, Sharon Muse-Johnson, and her husband, assistant Rob Johnson of "unprofessional unethical and possibly criminal conduct."
Muse-Johnson called the allegations leveled "blatantly false."
Among the accusations Privett wrote, he said Muse-Johnson's office impaneled too many jurors for the 2020 grand jury proceeding.
"I was upset. Shocked and upset," said Christa Crumley, Baxter's sister. "If anything, this whole process has caused me more trauma on top of trauma."
We first met Crumley in February 2020, days following the disappearance, and later, discovered death, of her younger sister.
Hicks is accused of killing Baxter on, or about, Valentine's Day 2020 then disposing of her body in a Madison County storage unit.
"At first, you know, I was angry. I wanted the death penalty. That's too easy. I want him in prison for the rest of his life," said Crumley.
On Monday, Hicks pleaded not guilty, just as he did in 2020 under the first indictment.
Crumley hopes to see the legal process through. She does not want mediation. She wants to see the fate of Hicks decided by a jury.
"I want trial. He deserves that. He can't admit to what he done, there's no deal. There's no reasoning," said Crumley.
There's no trial date set at this time. The next court date for Hicks is June 13.
