Death of Tammy Hicks officially ruled a 'homicide'

SAMS VALLEY, Ore. – A woman who was found dead after a trailer fire in Jackson County was strangled before her body was burned, investigators said.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said on June 30, a person called to report a trailer fire in the 3100 block of McMartin Lane in the Sams Valley area. The caller said a woman was still in the trailer, which was engulfed in flames by the time first responders arrived. The woman inside was found dead.

Following an investigation, detectives believed the woman who was in the trailer fire was 49-year-old Tammy Hicks. Her estranged husband—52-year-old Kevin Dean Hicks Sr.—was arrested shortly after police arrived at the trailer. At the time, police had reason to believe Tammy’s death was a homicide, and Kevin was responsible.

According to JCSO, the couple was separated after Kevin Hicks was arrested in October 2017 for allegedly assaulting Tammy Hicks in the presence of their four children. Kevin Hicks was released and quickly re-arrested for contacting Tammy, a violation of his release agreement.

Their four children were not present during the fire. “They’re such strong children to be going through what they’re going through,” said Tammy Hick’s father, Ralph Nelson. “One person… to completely and entirely tear apart a world.”

On July 17, it was announced that the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office completed their investigation in the death of Tammy Hicks. Her cause of death was officially determined to be strangulation. She died before her body was burned in the June 30 trailer fire.

Kevin Hicks remains in the Jackson County Jail on charges of murder, abuse of a corpse and arson.