Richmond, KY, man pleads guilty to murder of Sheena Baxter

The ex-boyfriend of a Scott County woman whose body was found in a storage unit in Madison County two years ago has pleaded guilty to murder and other charges.

Joseph E. Hicks, 55, of Richmond, entered a guilty plea in Scott Circuit Court Friday in connection with the death of Sheena Baxter, 32, a mother of three who went missing on the night of Valentine’s Day in 2020. Her body was found Feb. 25, 2020.

Hicks was shot in the arm on the night of Baxter’s disappearance, and he initially told police he was robbed outside the Georgetown Walmart, but police found no evidence of a robbery or shooting there.

Under a plea deal, Hicks could be sentenced to 45 years in prison for murder, first-degree robbery, felon in possession of a handgun, tampering with physical evidence, first-degree criminal mischief and falsely reporting an incident.

“Defendant agrees to serve a total of 45 years, 25 years are on violent offenses which require a minimum of 85% of service or 20 years before he is parole eligible, and 20 years are on non-violent offenses which require a minimum of 20% of service before he is parole eligible,” the plea agreement states.

Hicks is scheduled for formal sentencing July 11.

He was indicted soon after his arrest in 2020, but court records show he was indicted again on a superseding indictment in March. Questions arose surrounding how Commonwealth’s Attorney Sharon Muse-Johnson handled grand jury proceedings in the case, the Georgetown News-Graphic previously reported.

This story was originally published June 10, 2022 9:33 PM.