Stephanie Hicks

How they died

Suicide

Stephanie Hicks allegedly took an officer's gun and shot herself inside a police car on the way to a St. Louis hospital. Hicks' ex-boyfriend had called police and said that Hicks was walking 9.5 miles to a hospital in St. Louis in 105-degree weather. At around 9 a.m., the officer saw Hicks on a bridge and contacted EMS, who reportedly determined that Hicks wasn't suicidal. "She was adamant about going to St. Louis," Alton Police Chief David Hayes said. "So [instead of] allowing her to walk nine-and-a-half miles, our officer asked permission to provide her courtesy transportation to Christian Hospital, which we don't normally do." According to the officer, Hicks "never said a word" while in the car. Hicks sat in the front as the officer drove into St. Louis County. Then, on the service road to MO-367 near Dunn Road, the officer claimed Hicks grabbed his gun, they struggled, and she shot herself in the head.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Stephanie Hicks, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources