Jury seated in cold case murder trial

NORWALK — Jury selection began Monday in the murder trial of Paul Hicks in Huron County Court of Common Pleas. It opened the courtroom phase of a case that has shadowed Huron County for nearly 24 years and resurfaced this year with the return of a four-count indictment in one of the region's oldest unresolved deaths. Prospective jurors filled the Huron County Courthouse at 9:30 a.m. and made up a pool of 125 people. By the close of the day, all 12 jurors were impaneled, along with four alternates. The jury selection was closed to the public, which is not an abnormal practice. The day was dominated by jury selection, the process in which prosecutors and defense attorneys question potential jurors about their backgrounds, views, personal experiences and any ties to the people or places involved in the case. The goal is to seat a panel of jurors able to evaluate the evidence solely on what is presented in court. Attorneys may seek to dismiss certain potential jurors based on perceived prejudices uncovered during jury selection, shaping the group that will hear testimony in the case. A disappearance that became a cold case According to prosecutors, Hicks' ex-wife, Regina Rowe Hicks disappeared on the night of Oct. 18, 2001. She had been at the home of a friend in the Willard area and left around 10 p.m. in her white Chevrolet Camaro to pick up her young son. She never arrived. A search for Regina, involving family, friends and law enforcement began almost immediately. Four days later, a farmer noticed a disruption in the surface of a pond on Section Line Road 30 in Willard. When investigators looked closer, they found the Camaro submerged in the water. Inside the vehicle, they found Regina's body. For years, the case remained open but with no arrest. Early investigative efforts pieced together the timeline of her final hours, but no charges were brought. The circumstances of how the vehicle entered the pond, and what happened in the moments before that, remained unanswered. Renewed attention and a grand jury indictment As reported by the Reflector in April, the case was presented again to a Huron County grand jury, which returned an indictment charging Hicks, now 50, with three counts of murder and one count of kidnapping. Hicks appeared in court shortly after the indictment and pleaded not guilty. Bond was set at $2 million, and he remains incarcerated in the Erie County Jail. According to the indictment outlined by prosecutors, it's alleged that Hicks kidnapped Regina on the night she disappeared and caused her death, and that her vehicle entered the pond as part of those events. Hicks has consistently maintained his innocence. A case that has endured for nearly a quarter-century How the case unfolded over more than two decades: • October 2001: Regina disappears after leaving her friend's home to pick up her son. Her Camaro is found four days later submerged in a Willard-area pond, with her body inside. • April 2025: A Huron County grand jury reviews the case and returns a four-count indictment against Hicks, alleging he kidnapped and killed Regina. Hicks pleads not guilty. His bond is set at $2 million. Court filings begin to move the case toward trial. What comes next It's believed that both local, regional and national news outlets plan to cover the trial this week. Court staff said the trial will begin with opening arguments at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Editor's note: Reporter Bill Theisen contributed to this story.