WV WV - Leah Hickman, 21, Huntington, 14 Dec 2007 - #2

[No Stone Unturned]

Thinking of Leah today and how her body was discovered, strangled and wrapped in plastic in the laundry room basement crawl space. Southside brick building basements in Huntington, WV ( I know because I’ve lived in quite a few) have overhead crawl spaces.. literally the space between the basement floor and the 1st floor above. Who would be able to lift dead weight and shove it in there? Was this the work of perhaps two people? You know the ones I’m thinking of. The news report that came out 10 and half years ago that told the public they weren’t in danger because the suspect knew Leah personally and the layout of the building.

 

[hylianquinn]

Bumping for awareness. You are still thought of, fought for and missed, Leah.

 

[EllaMae]

This case is so sad. That poor girl.

 

[Ozoner]

This case is so sad. That poor girl.

Sad, yes, but I feel more anger than sadness. I'm angry that local LE hasn't solved what looked like a very solvable case.

 

[holtzmann]

Just rewatched Mysterious WV's Youtube upload on this case. It has always frustrated me that LE appears to be taking Jessica Vickers' statement about the last time she saw Leah as fact.

I don't know what kind of motive she might have had for wanting to hurt or kill Leah. Strangulation takes a lot of work; that's an involved effort that often suggests personal connection to a victim. I wonder if Jessica's boyfriend at the time was the actual murderer, and he and Jessica both conspired to hide the body and give each other alibis?

Seems unlikely that LE wouldn't be skeptical of the last people to see Jessica alive. It's extremely disappointing that none of the DNA they collected was ever tied conclusively to anyone.

Poor Leah. The thought of her being hidden and alone in that crawlspace for days in the middle of the Christmas season is just awful and heartbreaking.

 

[tiffkinsadder]

Frustrating. Apparently none of the mito(dna) didn’t match their POI. Maybe they didn’t really have one, just released that statement to settle or calm the public. IMO

 

[Truth & Justice]

I saw Mysterious WV’s profile on this case and Shauna Rae just released one yesterday. She mentioned Leah was afraid of her sister’s ex-boyfriend who previously lived in that apartment. Leah moved in after he was deployed and her sister later broke up with him. His belongings were moved to the basement, and apparently he and Leah didn’t get along so it’s safe to say there had to be some animosity between them. In light of this information she got from locals familiar with the case, it seems he should be the #1 suspect.

 

[wtstephens]

It appears that forensic scientists can now test DNA without destroying the entire sample. Has it been retested? If no answer, is this something that can be revealed with a FOIA request?

https://nypost.com/2018/01/27/these-advances-in-dna-research-could-change-crime-fighting-forever/

 

[A3PipeProblem]

I was thinking about this case last night and looked it up here on WS. I was wondering if with the advancements of DNA technologies since the mitochondrial tests if new testing is being considered? From an article in the local newspaper from 2009 (DNA doesn't solve Hickman case), the then police chief said improvements in technology was what they were waiting on:

“We're not in a position to where we can effectively test what we have right now," he said. "A lot of the technology exists, but it comes down to the size of the samples and stuff that you have to be tested. Oftentimes when you test things, you are using up your sample. A lot of it depends upon how much of it you have."

 

[PayrollNerd]

Glad to see renewed publicity. Someone needs to talk.

Captain Cornwell told Dateline that investigators regularly look at Leah's case.

"The case is not closed," Capt. Cornwell said. "For 12 years, we've followed every tip and piece of information we got regarding her case."

Captain Cornwell told Dateline that investigators collected trace evidence at the scene that was sent to Phoenix, Arizona for DNA testing, but yielded no answers. He added they are hopeful that as technology advances, the limited amount of trace evidence they have left will one day help solve the case. But for now, a suspect has not been named in Leah's murder.

"We're constantly re-evaluating. We're always hopeful," Capt. Cornwell said. "It's our deepest desire to find justice for Leah and closure to the Hickman family. Someone out there knows something. We can only hope that someone will have a change of heart and develop the courage to come forward."

Murder of Marshall University journalism student remains a mystery 12 years later

 

[Low1915]

I was thinking about this case last night and looked it up here on WS. I was wondering if with the advancements of DNA technologies since the mitochondrial tests if new testing is being considered? From an article in the local newspaper from 2009 (DNA doesn't solve Hickman case), the then police chief said improvements in technology was what they were waiting on:

“We're not in a position to where we can effectively test what we have right now," he said. "A lot of the technology exists, but it comes down to the size of the samples and stuff that you have to be tested. Oftentimes when you test things, you are using up your sample. A lot of it depends upon how much of it you have."

True

 

[5CentsWorth]

I came to see if there’s been anything new and I’m sad to see there isn’t. I hope one day this is solved.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I was thinking about this case last night and looked it up here on WS. I was wondering if with the advancements of DNA technologies since the mitochondrial tests if new testing is being considered? From an article in the local newspaper from 2009 (DNA doesn't solve Hickman case), the then police chief said improvements in technology was what they were waiting on:

“We're not in a position to where we can effectively test what we have right now," he said. "A lot of the technology exists, but it comes down to the size of the samples and stuff that you have to be tested. Oftentimes when you test things, you are using up your sample. A lot of it depends upon how much of it you have."

I wonder if they've considered @othram and their services? Maybe they aren't aware that is a possibility.

 

[EllaMae]

I think of Leah often, and wonder if her murderer will ever be caught.

 

[No Stone Unturned]

Here's to hoping that this case is solved soon!

 

[Linskid]

True Crime Garage podcast put out an episode about Leah at the end of last year.

 

[Linskid]

15-year anniversary of Leah Hickman case observed

The family says they're holding on to hope they'll get justice.

www.wsaz.com

 

[johnnytromplicops]

I lived at 403 8th Ave. from 3/03 to 2/07. My roommates and I lived directly across the hall from Jessica and Leah. The apartment directly below Leah's was occupied by good friends of mine. We all knew each other. I'd known Jessica since the late 90s and Leah casually from just being our neighbor and Jessica's sister. My roommates and I (and our friends downstairs) had all vacated the apartments before this tragedy happened. However, we were contacted by police and asked to come in for interviews, fingerprints, and DNA sampling. We gladly did this. <modsnip>

 

[5CentsWorth]

This is one of the most frustrating cases I’ve ever followed. It seems to be going nowhere. Justice for Leah!!!!

 

[No Stone Unturned]

It&#8217;s December again Leah. Each year, when the temperatures drop and snow begins to flurry, people begin decorating for Christmas and getting into the Holiday spirit of giving. I do those things. And, then it dawns on me that the anniversary of your death is getting near. Each and every Dec. since 2007, my mind comes back to thoughts of you. How in the world can this case still be unsolved? How can you killer still be on the loose? How can he or she go unpunished for such a heinous crime?

Huntington, WV is small town. There is a lot of crime there, mostly drug related. Most of the murders there are also drug related. This case has none of that. A nice girl, who took classes at Marshall University and worked part time at the Dress barn. Lived with her half-sister. Went out for a drive through dinner and was later found stuffed in the crawl space of the laundry room of her apartment building. She was wrapped in black plastic. The police departement said that who ever committed the crime knew the layout of the building and the laundry room. They said that the public should not be worried and are not in danger. To me, this means that they knew who the perp was, and that this was a personal crime.

Looks like it&#8217;s time for my yearly phone calls to the both the police department and the local news station. We, the public have not forgotten.

17 year anniversary this week. I haven't forgotten about you. I urge everyone who follows this thread to contact WSAZ and WOWK, the local news networks, as well as the Huntington, WV police dept. to revive interest in her case.