For 24 years, the person responsible for the death of 25-year-old Regina Rowe-Hicks managed to evade the reach of the law. Last year, the case saw a breakthrough when a key witness, Steve Gates, a former friend of the accused, decided to break his silence. Now, according to PEOPLE, he has given an interview with Dateline to explain why it took him so long to step forward.
Regina was last seen in October 2001, when she was expected to pick up her son, Montana, from the home of her estranged husband’s friend in Willard, Ohio. She never arrived. Four days later, investigators found her with blunt force trauma to the head and her white Camaro submerged in a nearby pond. The police tackled it as a homicide, but without concrete evidence, they couldn’t proceed, even with suspicions about her estranged husband, Paul Hicks.
In the interview, Gates explained that his silence was driven by fear. “I was tired of the threats, I was tired of looking over my shoulder, waiting to see where [Paul Hicks] was gonna be,” Gates said. When asked by Keith Morrison if he had been living under the shadow of these threats for years, Gates confirmed the intimidation. “He always had an angle,” Gates said. “I didn’t do very well documenting the threats with law enforcement but there was threats.”
Gates’ testimony also came with immunity
Per PEOPLE, Gates’ testimony eventually provided investigators with details of that night in 2001. He told authorities that Regina and Paul had engaged in an argument when she arrived to collect their son. According to Gates, he discovered Regina unconscious and was told by Paul that she was dead. Gates then claimed that Paul drove the car into the pond and jumped out of the vehicle before it sank, leaving Regina behind.
Read more about what Steve Gates says he witnessed the night Regina died #Dateline https://t.co/XIpNjLcBe2
— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) June 20, 2026
This was the turning point for this case, which had been notoriously difficult to prosecute. As ABC News detailed, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations Special Agent John Saraya noted that the lack of direct evidence or admissions made the investigation incredibly complex. Even when authorities brought Paul in for a polygraph test shortly after her disappearance, the exam couldn’t proceed because he claimed to have taken three Xanax pills and two shots of Jim Beam beforehand.
The case, ABC wrote, remained cold for years until a cold case team from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation took over. They began re-interviewing witnesses, eventually granting Gates immunity in exchange for his testimony. This led to the 2025 indictment of Paul Hicks on three counts of murder and one count of kidnapping.
During the subsequent trial, the prosecution reportedly argued that Paul’s motive was financial, specifically his desire to avoid paying child support. “Motive. Motive. Motive. That’s what it’s about here,” prosecutor Dan Kasaris said at the trial.
“Regina’s independence. Regina wanted child support. Regina wanted custody. Regina fought back. You don’t fight back against Paul Hicks,” Kasaris stated. ABC’s 20/20 reporting noted that the defense argued that the case was built on “speculation and conjecture” and lacked forensic evidence, but the jury found Paul guilty on all counts.
PEOPLE reported that Paul was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in January 2026. Following the sentencing, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost emphasized the significance of the verdict. “Today a killer is held accountable, although 24 years after the crime, it’s a stark reminder that truth has no expiration date,” Yost said. “Prison bars will now restrain the evil that stole Regina from her loved ones.”
Interestingly, last year, another 24-year-old murder from 2001 was potentially resolved when an elderly couple from Georgia was arrested for Travis Silvers’ death. This year has also seen the resolution of a 40-year-old cold case, all thanks to DNA testing on a chewing gum.
Published: Jun 20, 2026 02:28 pm