Since Judy Rush disappeared from her Columbia Heights apartment in August 2007, police had a suspect in mind. It was boyfriend Mo Hicks, a felon who had been convicted of bank robbery in the mid 1990s.
Now, three and a half years later, Hicks is in jail, charged Wednesday with second-degree murder.
Police had interviewed him twice early in the investigation, and his story changed, they said. Although a judge ruled Rush was deceased a year after she was reported missing, her body couldn't be found. Then, this month, a group of high school students hiking for an outdoor study class came across skeletal remains that DNA testing determined were those of the 56-year-old Rush.
Police, who had already built a case against Hicks, picked him up this week.
Hicks, 35, of St. Paul, made his first court appearance Wednesday in Anoka County. In bail discussions, prosecutor Wade Kish brought up Hicks' criminal history, including convictions for assault, attempted burglary and bank robbery. He also has had 13 warrants issued for his arrest.
Hicks' attorney argued that his client had been "off the criminal radar" since 2005 and has a good job. In the end, Judge Alan Pendleton set bail at $1 million.
The medical examiner's office said Wednesday that the cause of Rush's death was blunt-force cranial injuries.
Relatives of Hicks and Rush couldn't be reached for comment.