In the pre-dawn hours of August 18, 2022, 16-year-old Jakayla Hicks was found fatally wounded in the driver’s seat of a wrecked Dodge Charger that had left the roadway and entered a wooded area near Columbus Street and Georgia 520 in Waycross, Georgia. First responders were called to reports of gunfire around 4:41 a.m.; they administered CPR at the scene but Jakayla died of a gunshot wound to the head.

The investigation quickly centered on the vehicle’s passenger, identified as Jakayla’s 34-year-old father, Jacmine Maurice Hicks, who was found injured some distance from the crash and taken to Memorial Satilla Health. At the time he was on parole for a prior voluntary manslaughter conviction. Within a day police obtained a murder warrant for Jacmine Hicks while he remained hospitalized; he was later arrested and charged with murder, aggravated assault, possession of a sawed-off shotgun, possession of a firearm during the commission of certain crimes, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and booked into the Ware County Jail without bond.

Jakayla’s mother, Shawnda McNish, has spoken publicly about her grief and said she previously raised concerns with law enforcement. If anyone has information about Jakayla’s death or the events of August 18, 2022, please come forward.