Florida
Cause of death revealed for Florida teacher Amanda Hicks, who was killed in murder-suicide
The beloved Florida middle school teacher whose body was found next to her screaming infant was stabbed to death at the hands of her fiancé, police confirmed Tuesday.
The unnamed man killed Amanda Hicks, 26, inside their Port St. Lucie apartment early Saturday morning before using a gun to take his own life, investigators told WPTV.
The fiancé had reportedly tried to call a family member around midnight — an hour before neighbors heard “a very loud, screechy scream” and the sound of a single gunshot was caught on nearby video surveillance.
The family member tried returning the call in the morning before asking police to conduct a welfare check.
That’s when cops heard Hicks’ 10-month-old baby crying inside the locked apartment, just feet away from the two bodies.
The baby, Alani, was found unharmed in her crib 11 hours after the murder and is with a family member.
The couple had only been living in the Peacock Run apartments on Northwest East Torino Parkway for three weeks when the fiancé committed the murder-suicide.
Though neither Hicks nor her partner has been formally named by police, staff at Dr. David Anderson Middle School — where Hicks served as a reading teacher — confirmed she was “the victim of a homicide.”
Hicks was remembered by friends as a “bubbly and positive” person who was passionate about her teaching job — was also pursuing a swimsuit modeling career — but became distant in her final months.
Friend Raquel Magallon told The Post Tuesday that Hicks never mentioned getting pregnant, having a baby or being in a relationship and had abruptly deleted her social media accounts.
“I was surprised to hear that she had a baby,” Magallon said. “I have a side baby clothing business, so I would have thought she would have brought it up. But she never did.”
“None of it makes sense,” she added. “It’s just really sad.”
Other neighbors of Hicks and her mystery beau said they had limited interactions with the couple but described the pair as pleasant and seemingly upbeat.