Murderous roommate's huge mistake after claiming woman who tried to evict him committed suicide

An abusive lodger who murdered his landlady tried to person constabulary she had killed herself by handing them an unfulfilled termination statement she had written years earlier aft nan decease of her two-year-old son.

Terri Jo Williams, 65, had been trying to evict James Hicks from her Florida location and was successful tribunal connected nan time of her decease wherever Hicks, 63, was owed to look proceedings for assaulting her.

Hicks told constabulary she was his 'best friend' and he had recovered nan grandma drowned successful a fountain extracurricular nan Pensacola bungalow they had shared for 8 years.

But he was sentenced to life successful situation connected Tuesday aft a pathologist told a tribunal location was nary h2o successful her lungs and she had been severely beaten earlier being asphyxiated.

'Love you ever girl, remainder successful paradise,' friend Melanie Wright wrote connected her obituary page. 'You yet person Jason successful your arms again.'

Police responding to a neighbor's 911 telephone recovered nan mother-of-three look down successful nan mini h2o characteristic adjacent to her beforehand doorway connected August 12, 2022.

Hicks told constabulary that he had recovered her location and 'insisted' they look successful her car, wherever they recovered intoxicant connected nan rider floorboard, and a azygous pill connected nan driver's seat.

She was pronounced dormant astatine nan segment and pathologist Deanna Oleske recovered her decease to beryllium a homicide by asphyxiation, noting 2 surgery ribs, abrasions connected her arms, and bruising connected nan backmost of her head.

During a constabulary question and reply a week later, Hicks gave officers a 'suicide note' he claimed to person recovered successful nan home's laundry room 2 days aft her death.

'He presented nan missive arsenic being hand-written by (Williams) containing suicidal statements,' nan tribunal learned from nan Pensacola Police Department affidavit

'When (Hicks) presented nan missive only half of nan page was present, pinch nan bottommost missing arsenic though it was torn off.'

But investigators had already photographed nan missive aft uncovering it among her papers during a hunt of her chamber connected nan time of her death.

The photograph revealed nan missing bottommost half of nan statement successful which Williams had written 'It doesn't thief Jason died yesterday' - referring to Williams' two-year-old boy who had died successful 1985.

'James Hicks had intentionally removed portion of nan statement that proved erstwhile Terri Williams had written it,' Assistant State Attorney Matt Gordon told nan assemblage astatine Escambia County Court.

'He had done truthful to corroborate his declare that she committed suicide.'

The tribunal heard that Williams had met her slayer erstwhile they were co-workers astatine nan Florida-based Publix supermarket chain, and she had invited him to sub-let a room successful her home.

Immediately aft her decease Hicks sent her a matter connection asking 'Where are you? You OK … matter me,' and he told constabulary that they 'communicated almost each day'.

But Williams had been trying to evict Hicks from nan house, and constabulary recovered a diary she had kept documenting a bid of beingness attacks by her lodger.

A forensic investigation of his telephone and recovered only 2 different messages betwixt nan pair.

Neighbors told investigators that they often heard arguments coming from wrong nan single-story location and that Williams had described Hicks arsenic abusive.

'The astir telling injuries were bruising to nan musculature of her neck, injuries to her arms and 4 fractured ribs connected nan near broadside of her chest, ribs that had been surgery while she was still alive,' Gordon told nan court.

'Dr Oleske recovered that Terri Jo Williams had been murdered.

'She recovered that she had been physically asphyxiated, meaning that airflow had been blocked done an arena which put capable unit connected her pharynx and/or thorax that made to wherever she was incapable to breathe.'

Williams near 2 surviving sons and 5 grandchildren, and her family wrote that her 'proudest accomplishments, hands down, were her children'.

'The pridefulness she exuded erstwhile talking astir them was 2nd to none.

'Throughout their lives, Terri treasured her domiciled arsenic mother to Kevin and Bryan, and by extension, to their families and her 5 grandchildren.'

In their obituary tribute they described her arsenic 'strong, funny, hard-working and exceedingly caring and loving'.

'As evidenced by her lifelong postulation of Native American keepsakes, she shared nan taste sanctity of quality and animals. Terri was a compassionate person of animals, large and small.

'Any stray that mightiness transverse her way recovered a loving home.'