http://www.dailymail.com/News/200801040307
Friday January 4, 2008
Neighbors fearful after unsolved Hickman slaying
Huntington police say they have no new leads on death of Marshall University student
by
Zack Pettit
Daily Mail staff
With no arrests made and police naming no suspects in the death of Leah Hickman, people who live in what once was a quiet Huntington neighborhood are wondering if things will ever be normal again.
Neighbors fearful after unsolved Hickman slaying
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A Marshall University bear with a message of hope and comfort for the family still rests on the front porch of Hickmans apartment.
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Baby blue ribbons and long-stemmed red roses still adorn the trees lining the lawn of Hickman's four-unit apartment building, where her body was found Dec. 21 in a basement crawl space.
The 21-year-old Marshall University journalism student, who lived with her older sister, had been missing for a week.
Hickman's neighbors said they're still stunned by what happened, and they're afraid.
"I don't want to look over there, but my eyes go over every time," said Verna Blatt, 72, who has lived across from Hickman's Fourth Street apartment building for 48 years. "When they took her body out I was crying and praying for her. It's just so sad."
One of Blatt's six children lives next door to her. She said that's the only thing making her feel safe in the neighborhood right now.
"I'm a little bit scared, but not as bad as if my son didn't live next door," she said. "Nothing has ever happened here before."
People who live in the neighborhood said with no information forthcoming about the crime, theories and rumors are running rampant.
"My friend called me and said she's heard all kinds of things, and she's terrified," Blatt said.
Curt McHaffie, 50, has lived two houses down from the Hickman's apartment building for the past 30 years.
He said this is the first time a major crime has hit so close to his home. But he said he thinks the murder is an indication of bigger problems in Huntington. He cited increasing violent crimes and drug arrests in the city.
"It could be drugs, it could be anybody - the possibilities are endless," McHaffie said.
Another neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said he has noticed a change in the community since Hickman's death.
He said the porch lights on almost every house on the street are turned on immediately after the sun sets each evening.
The man said his wife was very shaken up by the incident, but the couple has been comforted by knowing that, for the most part, neighbors in the community watch out for one another.
Still, Blatt said she's changing some of her habits.
When the weather is nice, she sits on her porch after dusk.
She said she will be reluctant to do that anymore, even after the snow melts.
Huntington Police Lt. Rocky Johnson is heading the investigation into Hickman's murder, but has not returned phone calls this week.
Police have had little to say publicly since they had a press conference on the night Hickman's body was found.
At the time, they said they had no leads.
Police Chief Skip Holbrook said this week the department is waiting on laboratory results.
Several of Hickman's family members and friends, who pleaded publicly for the girl's safe return after she disappeared, could not be reached for comment.
Jessica Vickers, Hickman's roommate and half-sister, is the last known person to see her alive.
Vickers said the two discussed grades and the Marshall classes they would take during the upcoming semester. Vickers said her sister was in their apartment washing dishes the last time they spoke. That was about 4 p.m. Dec. 14, she said.
Police say Hickman called a friend from her cell phone about 5:45 later that day and said she was going to McDonald's for dinner. That is the last known contact she had with any of her friends or family.
Police said they found a McDonald's receipt and food wrappers at the apartment.
Hickman had been working at the Dress Barn store in the Huntington area for about five months before her death. The store put up a $10,000 reward for any information leading to her whereabouts.
For one week, friends had candlelight vigils and benefit concerts all over Huntington to drum up support and money for the search efforts, and to increase awareness about the missing woman. Her family members also plastered photos of Hickman on trees and telephone poles all over Cabell County and in Point Pleasant, Hickman's hometown and where her parents still live.
Leah's father, Ron, is the Mason County assessor.
Exactly one week after Hickman went missing, police found her body in a crawlspace next to the basement laundry room of her four-unit apartment building.
