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The Times-Tribune
October 29, 2014
Jury selection is scheduled to begin today in Monroe County court for the long-delayed trial of a man charged with killing and dismembering a Scranton woman in 2008.
Charles Ray Hicks, 40, is facing a possible death sentence if he’s convicted of first-degree murder for the death of Deanna Null.
Parts of Ms. Null’s body were found inside garbage bags strewn along two highways in the Poconos on Jan. 29, 2008. Police identified Mr. Hicks as a suspect after learning Ms. Null, a prostitute, was last seen with him. He was charged in March 2008 after authorities searched his Coolbaugh Twp. home and found her severed hands hidden inside a wall.
Mr. Hicks allegedly admitted having a drug-fueled, sexual relationship with Ms. Null, 36.
He has maintained his innocence about how she died, claiming it was an accidental drug overdose. He has not denied dismembering her body, according to court filings.
The case was originally set to go to trial in September 2011, but it was delayed after the Monroe County District Attorney’s office twice appealed then-President Judge Ronald Vican’s ruling that precluded them from calling several witnesses — all prostitutes — who claimed Mr. Hicks threatened or assaulted them. Such testimony is permitted to show a defendant had a pattern of behavior similar to the crime that is charged.
Judge Vican precluded authorities from calling four of seven women they planned to call, saying their testimony would be repetitive and would unduly prejudice Mr. Hicks’ defense. The state Superior Court upheld Judge Vican’s ruling. Prosecutors then appealed to the state Supreme Court, which in June overturned the lower court rulings.
Jury selection is expected to last about a week. Opening statements and testimony in the trial are scheduled to begin Nov. 5 before Judge Margherita Worthington.
