SEATTLE - The man accused of killing his girlfriend and their 13-week-old daughter in Seattle last week likely will not appear in a California court until Wednesday at the earliest.
Daniel T. Hicks was scheduled to make his first court appearance in Santa Cruz on Tuesday, but an official with the court says that has been delayed.
The Seattle Police Department says Hicks was taken into custody at about 10:35 a.m. Monday in Santa Cruz, Calif. Police there say Hicks was tracked down through a telephone trace. Police records show Seattle Police Department tipped off Santa Cruz police to Hicks' whereabouts. He was cooperative and arrested, at gunpoint, without incident.
Santa Cruz police say Hicks, who turned 30 on Sunday, told them he knew why he was being arrested and that he was "a bad person."
His pickup was found in Weeds, Calif. Investigators are searching it for evidence in the case.
Hicks is accused of shooting and killing his 13-week-old daughter, Ema Morgan, and her mother, Jennifer Morgan, in the basement of Jennifer's parents' Beacon Hill home Dec. 21.
Hicks was charged last Thursday with two counts of aggravated first-degree murder. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Probable cause documents detail a history of abuse and threats allegedly made by Hicks against Jennifer. Relatives of the victims say Hicks was upset that his baby was not a boy and had reservations about whether he was actually the father.
Jennifer Morgan's mother last saw her daughter alive on the afternoon of the murder. She did not find the bodies until the next morning when she went downstairs to check on Jennifer and Ema.
A memorial fund for the family of the victims has been established. You can donate to:
Jennifer and Ema Morgan Memorial Fund
Washington Federal Savings Bank
4800 Rainier Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98118
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