TN - LEON HICKS, Cold Case unit needs help to find relatives, Chattanooga

DA’s Cold Case Unit clears 43-year old homicide: They Need Help in Finding Family Members.

A review of Leon Hicks obituary shows he had two adult children, Mike Hicks of Chattanooga and Mrs. William Griffith of Erlanger, Kentucky.
The CCU's attempts to locate them have been unsuccessful.

They ask if anyone knows how to contact either of them, please have them call the Cold Case Unit at 423-209-7470 or by email at coldcases@hcdatn.org .

In the bottom of one of the boxes, they found a dirty, moldy old satchel. Inside, the found the 1972 Leon Hicks file.

Based on a thorough review of the evidence, District Attorney Neal Pinkston and the Cold Case Unit conclude that if the individuals involved in the original investigation, including suspect Harry Brooks Daniels, were alive today, Daniels would be prosecuted for the murder of Leon Hicks.

As a result, Chattanooga Police will be closing this case as “exceptionally cleared” due to the death of the defendant.

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http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/28809888/das-cold-case-unit-clears-43-year-old-homicide

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCpjwshVAAEDUlq.jpg:large

I couldn't get this copied, but here is a picture of the satchel and what looks like a case file.

Link to more of the story:

59-year Leon Hicks, co-owner of Hicks Brothers Restaurant at 1501 East 23rd Street, finished work the evening of March 10, 1972. As part of his normal routine, Hicks took his teenage dishwasher home, dropped his girlfriend at her house, and then went to his residence at a trailer park on South Holly Street.

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In April 1972, police executed a search warrant of Daniels’ Atlanta apartment. They recovered a pair of bloodstained shorts, five (5) fedora hats of the same size as the one collected from the murder scene and various medical supplies indicative of ongoing treatment for a gunshot wound.

Harry Brooks Daniels was brought to Chattanooga and indicted on the Black Angus armed robbery. But the murder investigation stalled.

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http://www.chattanoogan.com/2015/4/15/298256/DAs-Cold-Case-Unit-Clears-43-Year-Old.aspx

I edited the thread title to add Leon Hicks' name.

bessie said:

I edited the thread title to add Leon Hicks' name.

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thanks! after I did it, I thought to myself that it didn't look right.

Sad, Mr. Hicks restaurant was a street over from where my grandparents lived. I've shared this with my family in hopes they remember him or his children.

As a result of media coverage of this case, we received a call from the victim’s nephew. He put us in touch with his father, Buck Hicks. Buck is the brother of Leon Hicks and was the co-owner of Hicks Brothers Restaurant. Buck is 91 years old, currently recovering from a medical issue. We did get a lead on Leon Hick’s son (Mike Hicks) and are trying to contact him now.

Melydia Clewell made contact with Mike Hicks, the victim’s son. Mike advises he was 12yo at the time of his father’s murder. He saw the media coverage when we established the Cold Case Unit and had considered contacting us to ask that we take a look at his dad’s case.

http://newschannel9.com/news/top-st...-unit-clears-unsolved-1972-murder-16478.shtml

Kelly McCarthy ‏@KellyWRCB 3h3 hours ago
Michael Hicks is the son of Leon Hicks - his father was murdered 43 years ago - The case was solved yesterday

Kelly McCarthy @KellyWRCB · 3h 3 hours ago
Michael Hicks was 12 when his father was murdered. Says he was his father, mother, best friend... His everything. Misses him everyday

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCuUdY0UUAA-pWy.jpg:large