Decatur man sentenced to life for murder of ex-girlfriend near Waffle House, where she worked

DECATUR, GA- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against a Decatur man for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. 

On Thursday, jurors found Deeron Hicks, 25, guilty on charges of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, in connection with the murder of Ja’Nautica Whitehead, 19, on Nov. 25, 2022.

According to the investigation, on Nov. 26, 2022, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department (DKPD) responded to a call of a vehicle parked in a wooded area off Snapfinger Parkway with a woman’s body inside. When police arrived, they discovered Whitehead with gunshot wounds to the head.

Investigators learned that when Whitehead enrolled in college and attempted to distance herself from her high school boyfriend, Hicks, he became increasingly violent and controlling. In the months before her murder, Hicks repeatedly hit and strangled Whitehead, and threatened her with a firearm. Just two weeks before murdering her, Hicks showed up at the Waffle House where she worked, lured her to the parking lot, strangled her, and chased her with a gun.

On Nov. 25, cell phone records show Hicks followed Whitehead on her way to work and called her multiple times before she pulled over. Hicks shot Whitehead twice in the head, at close range. 

Hicks was taken into custody on Dec. 17, 2022 without incident.

Immediately following the guilty verdicts, Judge Desiree Sutton Peagler who presided over the trial sitting for the DeKalb County Superior Court, sentenced Hicks to Life in Prison, plus 5 years. 

The case, assigned to the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Unit, was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Nicole Finnie, with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Ashley Johnson, District Attorney Investigator Jann Polanco, and Victim Advocate Ashley King. DKPD Det. D.D. Evans led the initial investigation.

Pictured: Deeron Hicks/ Photo via DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office