EMMA MORGAN-HICKS - 13 weeks (2009) and her Mother, Jennifer - Seattle WA

SEATTLE - Prosecutors have now charged a man with aggravated
first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of his 13-week-old daughter
and his girlfriend.
Daniel Thomas Hicks, 29, is on the run and considered armed and
dangerous. Police believe he killed 28-year-old Jennifer Morgan and the
couple's daughter, Ema, sometime Monday.


The bodies were found Tuesday morning by the little girl's grandmother
at their home at 1330 S. Ferdinand Street.
According to probable cause documents, Jennifer and Hicks had rented
the basement of the home from Jennifer's parents for the last several
years.
While the family was thrilled over Ema's birth, Hicks apparently was
not. The documents say Jennifer had confided in her mother that Hicks
was upset the child was not a boy. He also allegedly was jealous and
suspicious of Jennifer and expressed reservations that he was actually
Ema's biological father.
According to the documents, Jennifer's mother went to work Monday
afternoon, believing that Jennifer was going to tell Hicks he should
move out. When her mother returned that night, Hicks' truck was gone.
All was quiet in the basement, so the mother believed Jennifer and Ema
were asleep.
The next morning, when Jennifer's mother went downstairs to check on
them, she found the bodies. Police say both Jennifer and Ema had been
shot multiple times.
Hicks' half-sister allegedly told detectives that Hicks was
"paranoid and refused any help" when Ema was born. One of Jennifer's
co-workers told detectives that Hicks once threatened to kill Jennifer
and himself, and had two loaded guns on him when he made the threat.
Jennifer's mother told police that she even asked Hicks' brother,
who was home for Thanksgiving from deployment in Iraq, to talk to him
about his allegedly abusive behavior. But, it did no good.
Because of the aggravated circumstances in the charges,
Hicks could face the death penalty if convicted.


Hicks is described as a light-skinned black male, 6-feet-4 tall, 160
pounds with brown eyes and short hair. He may be driving a white 2006
Chevrolet pickup truck with a chrome tool box in the bed, with
Washington license plate number A68135Z.
Police say Hicks has several guns registered to his name. If you see
him, do not approach him. You're asked to call 911 or the Seattle
Police Homicide Unit at 206-233-5000.
Those wishing to remain anonymous are asked to call Crime Stoppers
at 1-800-222-8477 or send a text to CRIMES (274637). Your text message
should include "TIP486" to ensure proper routing. If a tip leads to an
arrest and the filing of charges, you may receive a $1,000 reward.
A vigil is planned outside the Morgan home beginning at dusk Thursday.
A memorial fund for the family of the victims has been established. You can donate to:
Jennifer and Ema Morgan Memorial Fund
Washington Federal Savings Bank
4800 Rainier Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98118

SEATTLE -

The manhunt continues for Daniel Hicks.

He's accused of shooting his girlfriend and their 13-week-old daughter
to death in their Beacon Hill home, and not only is he one of
Washington's Most Wanted - But America's Most Wanted as well now.

Thursday afternoon, the King County Prosecutor's Office filed two counts
of aggravated murder in the first degree against Hicks.

The bodies of 28 year-old Jennifer Morgan and her infant daughter,
Emma, were found by Morgan's mother in the home they shared Tuesday
morning. Renee Morgan told police her daughter was planning to ask
Hicks to move out Monday and that Hicks' behavior had become erratic.

She said Jennifer believed Hicks was upset the baby was not a boy.

21 shell casings were found at the murder scene. Police believe Hicks
had to reload several times. Charging papers reveal both victims were
shot multiple times in the upper body.

A note addressed to Hicks' brother was also found at the scene, in
which Hicks claimed to be "Sick like Grandpa". In 1983 Hicks'
grandfather killed his wife and then himself.

Daniel Thomas Hicks is 6'4", 160 lbs., with brown eyes and short hair.
He may be driving a white 2006 Chevrolet truck with a chrome tool box
in the bed, with Washington license plate number A68135Z.

Police say do not approach Hicks, he is obviously considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call either
911 or the Seattle Police Homicide Unit at 206-233-5000. Those wishing
to remain anonymous are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at
1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or send a text to CRIMES (274637). Your text
message should include "TIP486″ to ensure proper routing. If a tip
leads to an arrest and the filing of charges, callers may qualify for a
cash reward of up to $1000. Calls are taken 24 hours a day.

Daniel Thomas Hicks was charged Thursday with two counts of
aggravated first-degree murder, accused of fatally shooting his
longtime girlfriend and their infant daughter after his girlfriend
apparently told him she wanted him to move out of the Beacon Hill home
where she'd grown up.

Hicks has been the subject of a police manhunt since Tuesday
morning, when Jennifer Morgan's mother discovered her body on a couch
in the renovated basement where the couple and their young daughter
lived, according to charging documents filed in King County Superior
Court. Hicks is accused of killing Morgan and 13-week-old Ema Morgan
sometime after noon Monday, the papers say.

On Wednesday, Hicks made a collect phone call to his father from San
Jose, Calif., charging papers say. His father, who didn't speak with
Hicks, called Seattle homicide detectives, who have yet to locate the
29-year-old fugitive.

The only penalties for aggravated first-degree murder are life in
prison or death, according to a news release issued by King County
Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.

Once Hicks is arrested and arraigned, Satterberg will have 30 days
to decide whether to seek the death penalty.

The charging documents detail the horrific scene detectives found:

Hicks, who is accused of using a .45 caliber handgun, allegedly shot
Jennifer Morgan at least 12 times and his daughter at least seven,
according to charging documents. Twenty-one casings were found, and the
documents point out that the type of gun used holds "an absolute
maximum of eight rounds" — which means the weapon was reloaded at least
twice.

A chilling family secret is also revealed in the charging papers: In
1983, Hicks' grandfather, Dean L. Hicks, killed his wife, Lona L.
Hicks, and then himself. Daniel Hicks was a baby at the time.

Charging documents say Hicks left a note for his brother, a member
of the military who visited Seattle over the Thanksgiving holiday but
is now back in Iraq.

Found inside a bag of his brother's personal effects left in the
basement apartment Hicks shared with Morgan, the note read: "I'm sorry.
... I hope your stuff is not stolen by the police. I am sick, like
Grandpa. Sorry cannot fix life. Please live for yourself and not
others. Do not cry."

Through interviews with Morgan's mother, Hicks' brother and
half-sister, and one of Morgan's co-workers, detectives learned Hicks
had been depressed and suicidal for some time — and his condition
worsened when he learned his girlfriend of nine years was pregnant, the
charging papers say.

He wanted her to have an abortion, claiming Morgan "was just trying to
trap him with the pregnancy," the papers say.
Charging documents also accuse Hicks of threatening to kill Morgan
and himself, and say he "had two loaded guns while he was making these
threats."

Hicks hasn't worked for more than a year and spent most of his time
in the basement apartment in the 1300 block of South Ferdinand Street,
the papers say.

Detectives found a cache of weapons, all registered to Hicks, and
ammunition in the house, but it is not clear in the charging documents
whether the seized handguns included the suspected murder weapon.

Problems between the couple grew as the holidays approached, the
documents say. Morgan told her mother Hicks was upset the baby was a
girl instead of a boy. He also "became very jealous and suspicious of
Jennifer," and questioned whether he was the baby's biological father,
the papers say.

On Monday, Morgan planned to tell Hicks he needed to move out while
her mother was at work, charging papers say. When Morgan's mother
returned home around 9 p.m., she noticed Hicks' pickup was gone and
"took solace in the expectation that the defendant had agreed his move
was best for the family."

The mother told detectives "all was quiet downstairs" Monday night,
and she thought her daughter and granddaughter were sleeping, the
documents say.

Tuesday morning, she went downstairs to ask Morgan a question about
a Christmas gift: "To her horror, [she] observed her 28-year-old
daughter bloodied and obviously dead on the couch." She ran upstairs to
call 911 but had "no idea that her granddaughter was also on the
couch," the papers say.

Hicks was last seen about 6 p.m. Monday by a neighbor as he left in his pickup,
according to charging documents.

SEATTLE -- A man accused of killing
his girlfriend and their child last month pleaded not guilty to two
counts of aggravated murder Tuesday in a King County courtroom filled
with the victims' emotional family members and friends
.Police said Daniel Hicks, 29, fatally shot his
girlfriend, Jennifer Morgan, and their 13-week-old daughter, Emma, on
Dec. 22 at the Beacon Hill home they shared with Morgan's mother.
Jennifer Morgan's sister, Brittney Morgan, sobbed quietly
as she sat in the front row and watched Hicks enter the courtroom."When
he looked over at me and rolled his eyes, it made me very upset because
he (showed) no emotion, not caring about what he did," said Morgan. "My
sister was my best friend. She was my only sibling. Emma was my little
angel. I was so overwhelmed with joy when I knew my sister was having a
baby."Court documents said after the shooting, detectives found
a note Hicks left for his brother that said he was "sick, like
grandpa." Police confirmed Hicks' grandfather killed his wife and then
himself. Court documents also revealed that Hicks was angry he had a
baby girl because he wanted a boy.After the shootings, Hicks fled to California,
where he was arrested in Santa Cruz on Dec. 28, police said.

Jennifer Morgan and her daughter Emma


He was brought back to Seattle on Jan. 14. Tuesday was his first
court appearance since he returned to Seattle.During the arraignment,
Hicks turned around to see who was watching, and looked Brittney in the eye.
"(It was) like the devil was staring at me. That's what he is now," said Morgan.
The King County prosecutor's office has 30 days to decide whether or not to seek the death penalty.

Life sentence for man who killed girlfriend, infant daughter

A Seattle man was sentenced on Friday to life in prison without
the possibility of parole for killing his longtime girlfriend and their
13-week-old baby more than a year ago.


Infant Emma Morgan was thrown against the wall before Daniel T. Hicks
unloaded his weapon into her and her 28-year-old mother, Jennifer
Morgan, days before Christmas 2009, according to police and prosecutors.

Hicks, 31, pleaded guilty earlier this month in King County Superior
Court to two counts of aggravated first-degree murder in the slayings,
crimes that carry only two possible sentences: life in prison without
parole or the death penalty.

Prosecutors said they elected not to seek the death penalty against Hicks because he has a history of mental illness.

According to charging documents, Hicks had been unhappy with his
girlfriend's pregnancy and the fact that the child was a girl. Charging
documents say he asked Morgan to have an abortion and then, after the
child was born, expressed doubts about her paternity.

He had been unemployed for more than a year and was becoming
increasingly depressed when Morgan told her mother that she would be
asking Hicks to move out of the Beacon Hill home they shared on Dec. 21,
2009, court documents say.

Instead, Morgan's mother found her daughter and granddaughter dead the following day.

Hick told police that after the slayings he contemplated taking his
own life but instead watched football on TV before driving south until
he ran out of gas in Weed, Calif., according to court documents. Police
said he then hitchhiked to Santa Cruz, where he was caught after he
called a relative who contacted police.

According to charging documents, Hicks left a note for his brother
that said, "I'm sorry. ... I hope your stuff is not stolen by the
police. I am sick, like Grandpa. Sorry cannot fix life. Please live for
yourself and not others. Do not cry."

According to police and relatives, Hicks' grandfather, Dean L. Hicks,
killed his wife, Lona L. Hicks, and an adult son in 1983, when Daniel
Hicks was a baby.

Hicks' plea saved the family of the victims from sitting through a
murder trial in which details of the deaths would be recounted to a
jury. It was also the first time a defendant has pleaded guilty to
aggravated murder in King County since Green River killer Gary Ridgway
admitted to the murders of 48 women in 2003.http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014270748_hicks19m.html