POI-Jim Hickey

Software salesman from Atlanta who took Tara to dinner early in October 2005. Did he visit Tara the friday before she disappeared at the school? Was she actually dating him or was it a business relationship?

I don't even remember this name coming up before, or a few others I see, they have been talked about so little. Very well maybe for good reason.

Very interesting. Thanks believe.

I have searched and searched and at this moment, I'm not finding him mentioned anywhere except listed in one post on old forum.

This name finally came up in the podcast "Up and Vanished" and he said that Tara sent him a text the night she disappeared that read, "I'm Cold"... Now that's scary. Assuming that no sane person would make something like that up, it makes me wonder why this wasn't a large known piece of information or evidence. This whole case is frustrating...so many people involved, yet it seems Iike only strangers on websleuths are picking it apart. I know it happened 11 years ago...but if that was my friend or family member, I would hope that I would know enough to get evidence against at least one POI. Unless Tara lived s very private life even outside of her friends, I just wish we could hear more from them about what they think or know.

I would LOVE to know where her phone pinged when that was sent !

Right? If only they had that ability back then. This may be an amateur question, but I wonder if enough people signed a petition that the GBI would release the information, pictures, and evidence in their position. If they were involved in some sort of "cover-up" maybe those working with the GBI 11 years later would be more cooperative and want to solve this case. I can't accept that they don't know something, or that they don't have enough evidence to at least charge someone. Kind of like the JonBenet Ramsey case, botched from the start and covered up after!

Yes cell phone pings were available in 2005. Cell phone pings were used in the Syed case back in 1999/2000 as well as the Watkins case that's being covered on another podcast in 2000.

On another note regarding Mr. Hickey and the text he received my guess is she was at the BBQ (I wonder if it was a bonfire type cookout/party) and sent him a text saying she was cold. It was late October. If someone is in distress, and they have a chance to send a text message, I think they would send something besides "I'm cold." They would use that opportunity to say where they are, who got them, etc.

Thats just my theory regarding that particular text message.

I agree, I think my initial thought in that being creepy was that maybe she had been drugged or was under the influence and woke up somewhere and said that, maybe in response to a text from him and she had enough control/awareness to text something but not enough to be specific about the danger she was in...seems far-fetched now, but still very eerie since she is still missing...

Apparently a friend at the party that knew them both had asked about him & she mentioned that he wasn't really communicating much so the friend suggested she text him & say "I'm cold, you should come warm me up" but apparently Tara didn't want to be that forward so she edited out the last part & just sent the "I'm cold".
I believe this was all according to him so it would need verified from the friend.
I can see the flirtatious fun in that text & wouldn't think anything of it had she not gone missing. If he has a decent alibi I just don't read much in to this in the way of a suspect.
I think a friend was encouraging her to reach out to him. If the friend knew about her emotional distress over Marcus it even makes more sense that he/she was attempting to help her move on with someone new.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk