DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A 25-year-old man has learned his sentence after he was convicted of shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend nearly two years ago, according to the district attorney's office.
A DeKalb County jury found Deeron Hicks guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Hicks will spend the rest of his life in prison, plus five years for the murder of 19-year-old Ja’Nautica Whitehead.
The incident happened on November 25, 2022, when Hicks followed his ex-girlfriend, Whitehead, on her way to work. He called her multiple times before she pulled over. Hicks then shot Whitehead twice in the head at close range, according to the district attorney's office.
Officers did not find Whitehead's body until the next day when they responded to a call of a vehicle parked in a wooded area off Snapfinger Parkway with a woman's body inside, a news release stated.
Investigators later learned that Whitehead enrolled in college and was trying to distance herself from Hicks, who was her high school boyfriend.
Prosecutors added that Hicks became "increasingly violent and controlling." Months before Whitehead was killed, Hicks allegedly hit and strangled her and threatened to shoot her.
The district attorney's office added that just two weeks before she was killed, Hicks showed up at her job, lured her to the parking lot, strangled her and chased her with a gun.
Hick was not arrested until weeks after the deadly shooting on December 17, 2022.
