Offender Record · OFF-2026-099
James Hicks (photo from the Radford University biography)
James Rodney Hicks
Also known as Jimmy Hicks
Sex
Male
Race
White
Height
6'0"
Hair
unknown
Eyes
unknown
Born
1951
Custody
Incarcerated
States
ME, TX
Distinguishing featuresHeight 6'0" per Radford University document
Custody
Incarcerated at Maine State Prison · #44644
Custody record at the facility
MDOC inmate #44644 at Maine State Prison in Warren, Maine. Serving all sentences in the Maine State Prison in Warren, Maine.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
James Rodney Hicks is an American serial killer who murdered three women in Maine. His first murder was that of his wife Jennie Hicks in 1977. His second murder was of Jerilyn Towers in 1982, followed by Lynn Willette in 1996. He was convicted with manslaughter in 1984 and sentenced to ten years, serving seven years. In 2000, Hicks pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in Penobscot County Superior Court in the slayings of Jerilyn Towers in 1982 and Lynn Willette in 1996. He is currently serving concurrent life sentences in a prison in Thomaston, Maine.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Jul 19, 1977, Carmel, Maine
Manslaughter (Fourth-Degree Murder)
Penobscot County District Court · Penobscot County Superior Court · Docket unknown · unknown · Arrested Oct 07, 1983 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 10 years, served approximately 7 years; released 1990
On October 5, 1983, James Hicks was arrested without bail based on a grand jury indictment on a murder charge in the disappearance of Jennie from 1977. The jury found James Hicks guilty of acting with reckless intent in causing his wife's death, and convicted him with manslaughter, which held a maximum sentence of 10 years at Maine state prison in Thomaston. This is the first murder case to go to trial without a body in the state of Maine. The victim, Jennie Hicks (age 23), was the offender's wife. In the 2000 confession, Hicks admits to have dismembered Jennie's body and dispersed her remains throughout the wilderness in the Carmel area.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Hicks, James; The Deadly Web of Maine Serial Killer James Hicks; Police probe for any link between confessed killer, unsolved homicides; James Rodney Hicks
Offense date Oct 17, 1982, Newport, Maine
First Degree Murder (Jerilyn Towers)
Penobscot County District Court · Penobscot County Superior Court · Docket unknown · unknown · Arrested Oct 10, 2000 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment without parole
Hicks pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in Penobscot County Superior Court in the slayings of Jerilyn Towers in 1982 and Lynn Willette in 1996. The victim was a 34-year-old single mother. On November 1, 2000, Maine's Penobscot County grand jury formally charged confessed killer James Hicks, 49, with the murders of Jerilyn Towers and Lynn Willette. Per document: Hicks admits to keeping Towers' remains in the trunk of his car for two weeks and then dismembered and buried her remains in a field on his property.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Hicks, James; James Hicks; Police probe for any link between confessed killer, unsolved homicides; James Rodney Hicks
Offense date May 26, 1996, Brewer, Maine
First Degree Murder (Lynn Willette)
Penobscot County District Court · Penobscot County Superior Court · Docket unknown · unknown · Arrested Oct 10, 2000 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment without parole
On October 4, 2000, during an interview with detectives, James Hicks finally confessed to killing Lynn Willette in May of 1996. He said he'd suffocated her at the apartment in Brewer they used to share. The victim was a 39-40 year old female. Willette's remains were found in concrete buckets buried next to the road in Aroostook County.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Hicks, James; James Hicks; Police probe for any link between confessed killer, unsolved homicides; James Rodney Hicks
Offense date Apr 08, 2000, Levelland, Texas
Aggravated Robbery
Lubbock County District Court, Texas · Lubbock County District Court · Docket unknown · unknown · Arrested Apr 08, 2000 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 55 years, not served in Texas; transferred to Maine
A Texas judge sentenced Hicks to 55 years for the aggravated robbery of June Moss, 67, of Lubbock, Texas. In April, Hicks held a gun on Moss and forced her to drink a bottle of cough medicine, but she was able to escape when Hicks went to check on a tub he was filling with water. The sick killer pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery, and a Texas court sentenced him to 55 years in prison. James Rodney Hicks confessed to Maine murders rather than spend time in a Texas jail. Per document: Hicks points a gun to her head and threatens to kill her. Hicks forces the elderly lady to write a $1,250 check and give him the title to her car. He also forces her to write a suicide note and drink an entire bottle of cough syrup. While Hicks is in the rear of the home, June escapes to a neighbor's house, where the neighbor calls the police.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Hicks, James; Authorities return Hicks to Maine; James Rodney Hicks: Maine serial killer evaded justice for years after killing three women; Police probe for any link between confessed killer, unsolved homicides
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
3
Victims convicted
3
Victims confessed
0
Victims suspected
Active years
1977–1996
Stated motive
Anger or revenge, Concealing another crime
Range from home
regional
Confessed
Yes
Cooperated with investigators
Yes
Education
some high school
Marital history
Married, Divorced
Children
4
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
ME
Etna, Maine
approx. 1951 – 1977 · Childhood home; lived with parents
Carmel, Maine
approx. 1970 – 1977 · Lived with wife Jennie and parents-in-law
Etna, Maine
1973 – 1973 · Local wood mill
Bangor, Maine
approx. 1973 – 1977 · Construction work and labor union along Interstate 95 corridor from Bangor to Newport
Etna, Maine
approx. 1977 – 1983 · Returned to Etna area after Jennie's disappearance
Newport, Maine
1982 – 1982 · Encountered victim Jerilyn Towers at Gateway Lounge bar
Thomaston, Maine
1984 – 1990 · Thomaston State Prison (later moved to Warren, Maine in 2002)
Brewer, Maine
1994 – 1996 · Twin City Motel · Worked as motel employee; met Lynn Willette there
Brewer, Maine
approx. 1995 – 1996 · Apartment on South Main Street with Lynn Willette
Bangor, Maine
approx. 1998 – 1999 · Moved to Bangor with wife Brandie Mayo
Warren, Maine
2000 – present · Maine State Prison, MDOC #44644
TX
Levelland, Texas
approx. 1999 – 2000 · Moved with pregnant wife Brandie Mayo; working as handyman
Known Vehicles
Vehicles and approximate dates of ownership or use, as reported in the cited records. A photo next to a vehicle is the vehicle itself as published.
2000 unknown unknown van – Van used in June Moss robbery in Levelland, Texas
2000 – 2000
Per document: neighbor noticed Hicks leaving June's home in his van and followed him home
1996 unknown unknown unknown – Car/vehicle used by Hicks and Lynn Willette
approx. 1996 – 1996
Per document: couple lived together and worked at Twin City Motel; Lynn's car found off interstate 95 at truck stop
1982 unknown unknown unknown – Pick-up truck; used to transport victim Jerilyn Towers
approx. 1982 – 1982
Per document: Hicks drove pick-up truck away from home after Jennie's disappearance
Timeline
Apr 17, 1951
James Rodney Hicks born April 17, 1951 in Etna, Maine.
Jul 19, 1977
James Hicks strangled his wife, Jennie Hicks to death with a belt on July 19, 1977.
Oct 17, 1982
Hicks met 40-year-old Willette of Orrington with whom he worked at the Twin City Motel in Brewer; Jerilyn Towers was encountered at Gateway Lounge and left with Hicks on October 16, 1982, and was strangled to death from behind in his car after swimming at Newport swimming hole.
Oct 07, 1983
Hicks is arrested and charged for the murder of Jennie Cyr Hicks.
1984
James Hicks was convicted to 10 years in prison and served six years.
Mar 22, 1984
The jury deliberates for nine hours and returns a verdict of guilty in the fourth degree (present-day manslaughter).
Aug 22, 1985
James Hicks marries Linda Marquis in the Thomaston State Prison in Thomaston, Maine; they have known each other for seven years.
Jul 1990
James Hicks was released on good behavior in July 1990 after serving only seven years of his ten-year sentence.
May 26, 1996
James Hicks confessed to killing Lynn Willette in May of 1996; he said he'd suffocated her at the apartment in Brewer they used to share.
Apr 08, 2000
Hicks points a gun to June Moss' head and forces the elderly lady to write a check and give him the title to her car in Levelland, Texas.
Oct 10, 2000
Hicks is extradited to Penobscot County, Maine.
Nov 01, 2000
Maine's Penobscot County grand jury formally charged James Hicks with the murders of Jerilyn Towers and Lynn Willette.
Nov 17, 2000
Hicks pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in Penobscot County Superior Court in the slayings of Jerilyn Towers in 1982 and Lynn Willette in 1996.
Dec 29, 2000
A Texas judge sentenced Hicks to 55 years for the aggravated robbery of June Moss.
Jan 05, 2001
The judge states Hicks shows no remorse for the crimes and sentences Hicks to two life sentences without parole plus restitution to be awarded to the Towers and Willette families; issued a 55-year sentence.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
News report · Wikipedia ·
James Rodney Hicks“American serial killer who murdered three women in Maine. Born April 17, 1951. Convicted first degree murder 3 counts.”
Offender registry · Serial Killer Database ·
HICKS James Rodney“Maine State Prison (MDOC: #44644) — Warren, Maine. 10 years (1977); Life imprisonment without parole (2000).”
News report · Murder, She Told: Maine & New England True Crime ·
The Deadly Web of Maine Serial Killer James Hicks“Found James Hicks guilty of acting with reckless intent in causing his wife's death, convicted him with manslaughter with maximum sentence of 10 years.”
News report · Daily Crime ·
James Rodney Hicks: Maine serial killer evaded justice for years after killing three women“Hicks subsequently pleaded guilty to the murders of Lynn Willette and Jerilyn Towers and was sentenced to life in prison.”
Other · Radford University Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Hicks, James“Detailed timeline of James Rodney Hicks' life, crimes, and convictions from birth in 1951 through 2012 incarceration.”
News report · Bangor Daily News ·
Authorities return Hicks to Maine“A Texas judge sentenced Hicks to 55 years for the aggravated robbery of June Moss, 67, of Lubbock, Texas. After his arrest, Hicks decided to cooperate with authorities.”
News report · Portland Press Herald ·
Police probe for any link between confessed killer, unsolved homicides“Hicks decided to cooperate with Maine authorities in exchange for serving his prison sentence in Maine instead of Texas, where he faced a lengthy term for attacking and robbing a woman.”
News report · Murderpedia ·
James Hicks“Hicks pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in Penobscot County Superior Court in the slayings of Jerilyn Towers in 1982 and Lynn Willette in 1996.”
Discussion
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