20/20 - The After Show: The Secret in the Water

Episode Date: May 4, 2026

Deborah Roberts spoke with Court TV’s Julia Jenae to uncover the murder investigation of Regina Hicks and in-depth analysis of the case.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This show is sponsored by Deadly Nightmares, a podcast from ID. Picture yourself alone in the middle of nowhere, and somebody's following you. On Deadly Nightmares, a podcast from ID, you can hear real stories from ordinary people who were stalked by predators. On each episode, survivors describe the moment they sensed something was wrong and how they managed to escape. Then investigators and family members speak to the details of each case, sharing exactly. what happened. These terrifying stories are the stuff of nightmares, and they're all completely real. Listen to deadly nightmares wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, everybody. Welcome to 2020 The After Show. So good to have you with us. I'm Deborah Roberts,

and today we're going to talk about a story that I have to tell you I haven't been able to shake. And I think it's going to be hanging around with you for a while, too, after you hear the details. I'm going to take you inside my reporting of a story that just aired on Friday night for 2020 called The Secret in the Water. I traveled to Willard, Ohio, to learn more about this unbelievable story, one that took two agonizing decades for the family involved to finally see some sense of resolution. In this piece, we told you about 25-year-old Regina Hicks, a young mom who was on her way to pick up her son from her estranged husband, but was never her. heard from again. Well, as you might imagine, her family was desperate to find her. They were calling her phone all that night and the next day and nothing. Sadly, just four days later, Regina's body was submerged at the bottom of a pond only a few miles from her home. And of course, the big

question was, what happened? Did she lose control of her car? There were a number of theories swirling in this small town, including one that maybe she had taken her own life or that maybe somebody deliberately and calculatedly murdered her. Well, this case went unsolved for quite a while. Police were investigating, but there were no arrest. And the big question was how and why. Well, we're going to take you through it all today. You're also going to hear a lot more from the people that I interviewed who were in this episode. We're going to bring you some new details and some new sound that you didn't hear on Friday night. So joining me now, to unspool it all is court TV legal correspondent Julia Jeney who reported on this story with us.

And she joined us in our 2020 episode as she has for a number of them. Julia, good to see you. Deborah, good to you. Thanks for having me. Yeah, yeah. I wish you were here with me so you and I could talk a little bit more about our roots. We're both Georgia girls. Oh, that's right. From the heart of Georgia. Yeah. From Decatur, Georgia. And I went to school. Not too far from where you grew up. Yeah, yeah. Smalltown Georgia for me. And I went to the University of Georgia. And viewers might be very curious about you. You've reported on these kinds of true crime cases for a very long time. And I'm curious what captivates you about these cases because they can be pretty dark. They can be dark. And you definitely have to stay grounded in order to be able to

cover some of these stories. I just feel for those investigators who have to go in and see what happened right after it happened. But I think something that really captures my attention about the usually there is a struggle for justice in these cases. It's unfortunate. The victims have to not only go through the loss of a loved one, and they have to get people to help them sometimes to get the case solved. Police have to work together with other people. So watching that all unfold and play out, that is the truly interesting part of these cases. Let's talk about the case of Regina Hicks, because when this was presented to me by the producers, I was just fascinated not only by how long it took to resolve the case,

but the man who was involved in this case, Paul Hicks, who was her estranged husband, how he was implicated in this case. What were your first thoughts when you heard about it? This case got stranger and stranger, the more that you learned about it. It was already so atypical that there had been this length of time that Regina Hicks' family was looking for justice. And then you have the person that people believed all along may have been involved was essentially hiding in plain sight.

And just the way that she died. Her body being found in a pond, underwater, in this car that she loved. And it just seemed like at this point in her life, she had gotten a new lease on life. So things were really looking up for her. And it just adds to this mystery of what happened to her and why did it happen like this. Yeah, yeah. And we'll talk about that car in a minute. But let's talk about the two of them.

These two were high school sweethearts. The relationship soured. And so on October 18th of 2001, they shared a child together, a four-year-old boy named Montana. They had a pretty tumultuous relationship. So they had this meeting point where she was supposed to go pick up her son from Paul. They were separated at the time. And she didn't, nobody heard from her after this. And of course, there were alarm bells with her family. They knew that that was unlike her not to show up. What were their immediate fears in the beginning? Their initial concerns is that this was very unlike her.

She would not just disappear and leave without her son that she loved so much. She had firm plans that day to go pick up her son, take into her mother's house, and then go on a date with a new guy that she was dating. So for her to, in this very small window of time, go from on her way, to meet up with Paul Hicks to then not being heard from again, everyone was really fearing that something very bad had happened and that this was not something that was voluntary. Yeah, they were suspicious of him because their relationship, as I said,

had been tumultuous. She had moved out. She was sort of moving on. He was moving on and had a new girlfriend. But they had had a bad relationship. Fighting, money, troubles, infidelity. Tell us a little bit more about their relationship that we didn't really get into in the piece. It really had started to dissonner.

after the birth of their son. And they were, as you said, fighting a lot. And there were these issues with infidelity. There was also problems with money. Now, their house burned down, not too long before Regina disappeared. And this was a situation where most of the stuff inside of the house belonged to Regina. This was devastating for her to lose all of her things. And because their relationship was already so fractured, she decided this was the time

to make the break. They had settlement money. Right. That was it. That was the straw breaking the camel's back. And she took the settlement money that she split with Paul and was able to get her new car, get a new business with her uncle. But she also was going to be getting child support payments from Paul. And that was coming up due very soon. So she bought this new Camaro, a white Camaro. She was proud of the car. Her relatives talked about how people knew, that was her car, that was kind of her baby. She was very excited. Then things kind of take a heartbreaking turn, of course, four days after her disappearance, these two farmers, and I got a chance to speak with the dad when I was out there, these farmers see something in their pond, they get a chain and they try to pull it

out and eventually discover that it is a car, a white Camaro. Police find her body in the car. Initially, they're thinking an accident, but then they see something kind of strange. And let's talk about that. She's in the passenger side of the car. I mean, it's horrifying scene already. But how in the world would she have been in the passenger side of the car? That body position was one of the biggest red flags for investigators. Because you're thinking if someone drove into the car, whether accidentally or intentionally, they would be secure to the driver's side. They'd potentially be buckled in.

And that would be where you'd find their body. And here, she's on the passenger side. and it's not in a position where the medical examiner thinks she was trying to get out. It's just that that's the sign that she was on when she went into the water. So that raised a lot of alarms for people in terms of she couldn't have gone in by herself. They're likely with someone on the driver's side. Yeah. And what was so surprising to me when I was out there talking to folks is that, you know, the idea that, I mean, it raised red flags, but it didn't point to anybody in particular. People suspected Paul might have been involved,

he offered an alibi. And so time goes on and no arrest are made. And her family is just, you know, despondent. They're, you know, upset. They have a funeral, but they have no answers. And then years go by. And of course, as I said, the state gets involved with these new investigators. And I had a chance to speak with a BCI agent, Doug Burke, who took me to that pond to tell me a little bit about what they saw all these years later. And he's pointing out how he thinks the car might have gone into the the pond and he was convinced. Either someone drove it there or jumped out and made sure it was pushed into the pond. He was convinced that that was how it happened. And what really shocked me, Julia, was he took me to an impoundment lot and showed me something that was pretty chilling, the actual

car, which is still preserved all these years later. I got a chance to see this car. He opens the door. There's all this mud there, you know, this mold in it now, as you might imagine. But it's still kind of intact. I mean, it was almost like some kind of a tomb. You know, there are magazines in there. There are all the things that were there when she had the car. So they began looking, and this is what gave me goosebumps. He shows me the imprint of her shoe that would have scraped the side of the door. And he shows me her actual boots that she was wearing that night that are caked in mud. But that was critical because that showed them that she was placed inside that car. And that was critical in this investigation, wasn't it?

You know, as devastating as all that information is, just hearing that it was so well preserved is, it goes to what this case is. It was preserved all of these years, 20 years later for them to finally get to justice. But yeah, just hearing about the mud and where it was in the car, the medical examiner found that mud inside of her pants and inside of her undergarment. So they've got all of these details, but that airtight outside. that her husband had just left them with no suspect. Yeah, with more questions.

And police had questions at the time. And then we fast forward to later, as you said in 2001 or so at that time. But then later on, when the new investigators get involved, they, of course, now pick up where those questions left off. And they start questioning people who had been closest to him. Paul had this really good friend, and they questioned those folks. But Paul, as we said, had an alibi. But one thing that was interesting, he had filed for divorce and custody, full custody of their son, just 24 hours after Regina was missing. I mean, that had to have been suspicious to everybody, right?

It had to have been. And you know, it had to have been to Regina's family. If you hear that someone just a day after they disappeared, they're filing for divorce, that is pretty shocking. But I do look at this even as a lawyer, and I can see both sides. Most of these family law cases, they take time to develop. Their relationship was deteriorating. They were talking about divorce. And here on this day where she doesn't come to pick up her child,

she could have had the excuse that it's time for me to go ahead and make this final. This is the straw for him, the final straw. So I can see how that may not have been definitive evidence for investigators at that point. Of course, everybody was asking questions. Who would want Regina dead once they know? knew that she looked a little unusual the way she was placed in the car. But there was no DNA evidence, no security camera footage, no tracking devices to help connect the dots. Well, when we come back, you're going to want to hear more. We're going to give you in-depth details into this

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who helped us with our report on our most recent 2020 episode called The Secret in the Water. Police suspected foul play, Julia, but didn't have a suspect. Okay, so this goes. on her mother is just advocating. Her mother gets sick and even passes away. She never gets any answers. Then in another town, a small town about 150 miles away, there's a major house fire. Well, firefighters were immediately suspicious of this scene. But guess what? The house was owned by Paul Hicks, who had been married to Regina Hicks, the woman who was found dead in that pond all those years before.

His home catches on fire, and he is certain that it is an arson. He calls police and says, I'm a victim of intentional igniting of my house, intentional burning down of this place that I live sometimes. He didn't live there all of the time, but it was a home that he owned. One thing that was kind of interesting is that Paul actually showed up at the scene, and he helped police retrieve that security video from the DVR system. And this is the part that really got me, because when our producers told me about, this video and he can see these people and there's a woman in the video who seems to look like another one of Paul's ex he had had a child with her by the name of Kelly and it's appear to be two arsonists here in this video and you know he's right he right away identifies this woman Kelly he

tells uh you know authorities that Kelly was trying to get revenge on him after a breakup and this is back in 2015 we have to always remember today we're looking at cameras all over the place, surveillance cameras all over the place, but this is 11 years ago. Things were a little different then. Right. 2015, things just weren't as clear. It's kind of hard to believe that things have gotten so much better in a short amount of time.

But the way our cameras are now, the way we can see things on ring and different home videos, that wasn't the case back then. You didn't have a ring camera on every door. And surveillance videos didn't really give you that crisp video. But this video that he did, provide two police. He helped them to download it from his system. It shocked me. I couldn't believe how deliberate it seemed that the woman in the video was. She wasn't trying to hide her face. Yeah. Talk about that. She was looking at the camera. Looking dead at the camera. I mean,

both eyes face up as if she knows the camera is there. And you think these were two people who were trying to be surreptitious in the way that they got into this house. and lit it on fire that they'd be avoiding cameras or at least at a hoodie, something to cover their face. That wasn't the case for this woman with this, you know, really bold, curly hair. And she's again looking after camera. Yeah. And she looks like Kelly, his ex. And so police are predisposed to believe Paul.

He seems to be giving this, this true story. So then they go after Kelly. They arrest her at a grocery store in town, brought her in for questioning. Kelly was arrested for alleged damage. of Paul's hot tub, but it wasn't connected to the arson. She's terrified because I had a chance to speak to her in our piece. And she talks about this ordeal that is still very devastating for her. I mean, this is a woman who's trying to move on, you know, with her life.

She's been dating this man and now she's broken up with him. He's the father of her child. She's almost like terrified and traumatized by him anyway. And then she's arrested. Arrested for something she is completely unaware of. So she's telling them it's not me. It's definitely not me. But they say we've got the surveillance video of someone that looks an awful lot like you.

And you've got all these reasons to potentially be upset with your ex because they are going through child custody issues. And Paul Hicks is about to come up due for child support payments. Well, she talks about how, you know, ultimately she had an alibi, thankfully, you know, she was with her mother. but she also talked about her relationship with Paul. She kind of shed a little light on the two of them. In our exclusive interview with us, she told us how she got to know him. And I'm going to play a little bit of some of the interview

that you didn't get a chance to see in Friday's episode. Here's what she had to say about the night she first met Paul. Did he talk about his life before? Did he talk about previous relationships, girlfriends, wives? Actually, on our first date, he told me about his wife that passed away. He told me she passed away in a car accident. And what did you think about that? It was sad because he actually started crying.

So of course I was sympathetic, like, you know, oh my gosh, that's horrible. You know, like this great guy, he lost the love of his life, the mother. That's what my thinking was at that time. So he led you to believe that he was a guy who's recovering from heartache. Yes. And he's now out in the world again. Did he present himself to you as somebody who, you said he seemed to have his life together? But, you know, how did he carry himself when he's talking and all of that with you?

with you? You would think he knows how to talk to somebody and to where you could believe everything he's talking about, even lies. And people believe him. So he sort of exaggerated and boasted. Oh, big time. So according to Kelly, Paul seemed to have this other side to him. I mean, she talked about him being charming, but he was sort of boastful. It would take two years, of course, for this investigation to go on after this fire had happened. And during that time, Paul had temporary custody of their son, which is heartbreaking. And many people were asking why. That's because she's arrested and it looks like that she's a danger, I guess, right? Yeah. And that can to a family court say that she's not the better parent for the child to be with. And until you can get these

charges dropped, there are no charges, but just this cloud of suspicion around her. She's in that tough situation. I mean, that's so hard to know that she dealt with. that when it came to her child and all of this. And it took so long for the investigation to play out. It actually really deepened because Paul sued his insurance company for denying his claim. And those civil investigators really went deep into this case for their insurance company. But ultimately, it helped with what happened. The claim was denied and the civil court deemed that he didn't have a claim for arson.

He denied that he had any involvement in it, but they were able to determine in terms of the criminal investigators that Kelly was not the one who was responsible and they cleared her of all charges. They did charge Paul with arson initially, but they did drop those charges in exchange for a plea deal where he received probation for insurance fraud. Yeah, yeah. He denied the allegations. He was charged with aggravated arson, perjury, and as you said, insurance fraud. So in this case, yes, he did deny those allegations and he actually took a plea deal. He didn't serve any time. He pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor count of insurance fraud and was sentenced to three years.

As you said, those charges dropped. Does no time. And I want to talk with you more about that, Julia, don't go anywhere because you've heard that expression where there's smoke, there's fire. Well, this arson investigation sparked a whole new prescriptive on Regina's murder 20 years later. this cold case was about to heat up. So when we come back, this case lands in court and the testimony would change everything. We're going to tell you more about how Paul Hicks wound up in court

and what happens. Don't go anywhere. Road to the NBA Finals is happening now on ESPN and ABC. It's make a break now. Best on best now. Watch him sit with his chest now. Greatness is up for grab. and the world is watching.

Just win. On the home of the NBA finals. All the work. All the sacrifice. The NBA playoffs presented by Google continue on ESPN and ABC. Hi there, everybody. Welcome back to 2020 The After Show. I am here with Court TV's Julia Janay,

taking you through, I mean, what can only be described as twist and turns of our latest 2020 episode, The Secret in the Water. that aired on Friday night. Julia, I was struck by prosecutor Dan Casaris. He talked to me about how the case was circumstantial when they were looking at it. They didn't have anything to absolutely convict Paul of Regina Hicks murder. But there was Paul Hicks' friend Steve Gates. And I had mentioned that he had a friend that he was with the night that Regina disappeared. And Gates had

never really offered much that would help police when they were investigating. But now here we are 20 years later, and he's got some things to say, right? He's got some major things to say. We're talking case-altering things. Seedgate was the alibi witness. He said that Paul was with him at the time that Regina would have disappeared and that Regina never showed up at their house to pick up the son that Paul shared with Regina. So when you can't crack that alibi, that's really the reason that police stalled in this

case couldn't go any further. And Steve Gates now, 20 years later, is contacted and he says, I will tell you what I know if you give me immunity. And that's what changes everything. The prosecutor told me that he felt like Gates had just been eaten up by all of this. You know, it was just so hard. He had carried this for so long. He finally unburdened himself, tells everything he knows, implicates Paul Hicks, who then is arrested April 22nd, 2020. he's arrested for the murder of Regina Hicks, charged with three counts of murder, one count of kidnapping, and Steve Gates becomes the star witness. Tell us about him in the courtroom. He starts to tell everything he knows. Tell us about that courtroom appearance. Through this entire trial, the big question is what would Steve Gates stay? Because he is the one change in evidence that prosecutors really have from all of those years ago. This is the only thing that's different about the case. And he takes the stand. And he opts out of being on camera. So many people are unable to see what he said in the public.

But we were able to get the documentation from inside of the courtroom to know that he tells a completely different story than he did 20 years ago. He's saying now that Regina did show up at his house where Paul was with the son and that he noticed them out by the barn, are youing. She's in her car. She gets out. She's talking to Paul. So he leaves and does. go around them for a little bit. But when he comes back, Regina is crumpled in the bottom of her car on the passenger side and that Paul is telling him she's dead and that they have to get

in the car and drive away. Steve Gates gets in the car with the son and drives behind Paul with what he believes is Regina's dead body inside. Stephen Gates testified that he was driving in the car behind Paul Hicks and he saw him drive Regina's car into the pond and then he saw the taillights go up. Paul getting out. He was completely muddy. And then he got into the car with them and told him, better keep your mouth shut. You're involved. And he makes a call to Regina's phone, leads her voice message saying, where are you? It's an unbelievable type of testimony in front of this jury. Yeah. Yeah. He covers his tracks there and he was able to do that for many years, but of course, even though Gates had lied previously, the jury believed him. And in December of

2025, they found Paul Hicks guilty on all four counts related to Regina's murder. He was sentenced to 25 years to life. This man finally was held accountable for this murder. Kelly actually had an emotional reaction to how all this played out. Here's a little bit more of my interview that you didn't get a chance to see on Friday night. And then when you heard the verdict guilty. Oh yeah. That was, thank God. That was amazing. What was that moment like for you? Winning, finally. My baby's coming. My baby's home. We're safe. He's where he belongs. He's going to be where he belongs. Was there any hint of sympathy for Paul in your, in your heart? I mean, with all of this going on, this is the man who's the father of your child. Did you feel any

sadness at all about this conviction or were you simply just relieved? I was relieved, but the only small bit was of the person I thought he was, but then I know that's not him. So he's where he belongs. He's a threat to everyone on the street, so. And tell me about that, the person you thought he was versus the person you discovered he was. Oh, I thought he was one of the first been amazing. I said fun, charismatic. And then come to find out what he became that I knew him as controlling. So, dark. Jugi, there were so many people impacted by this story over the years.

And as we said, Regina and Paul's son, Montana, he's now a grown man. To have his mother murdered by his father, his victim impact statement was read in the courtroom. He didn't want to come personally. He had it read by a victim advocate. And he was a guy who seemed to be sort of walking the line saying that he didn't believe his father should be punished, but whoever did this should be punished. What a difficult place for this young man. He's lost his mother. And now, of course, he's lost his father. Impossible situation for him to be in. And he's lived his entire life being raised by his father. And his father, no doubt, saying your mother went into the pond on her own. That's what Paul. Hicks told the investigators. So it's likely that that's what he believed for a good portion of his life. His impact statement, though, was really touching. He made sure the court knew that he was the most impacted victim in all of this, losing his mother in that way. You could tell it was still devastating to him through his words.

And he said that he wanted the judge to sentence his father to mental health treatment, if anything. name, and that, of course, did not happen, but very interesting that he chose that language in his impact statement. Regina's family really seems to be, I guess, relieved, still crushed, but relieved that they did find justice after all these years, as you said. Julia, it's a fascinating story. You brought such depth and insight into this story, as you always do with our pieces here at 2020.

So we so appreciate your doing that and for being with us here. And maybe one of these days you'll be here in the studio. We can sit across with each other. I hope so. I look forward to it, Deborah. And thank you all for being with us for this podcast episode. You can watch all of our 2020 episodes, of course, the latest ones on Friday nights on ABC, and you can stream episodes like this one anytime on Disney Plus and Hulu.

Hope you have a good day, and thanks for being with us. Sunday nights on ABC. What happens when the person you love the most turns out not to be who you think they are? Everything he told me was a lot. I was betrayed from the number one true crime podcast, betrayal. He's been living a secret double life. My marriage ended with a 911 call. The tape is blood curdling.

Betrayal, secrets and lies. So many people are living with their own betrayal. Sunday nights at 10-9 Central on ABC and stream on Disney Plus and Hulu. In the suburbs of D.C., a woman fails to show up for work and is found brutally murdered. I wonder what's emergency. We just walked in the door. There's blood in the foyer. For the next two decades, the case remained unsolved

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