BOONE, N.C. — A registered sex offender is behind bars on more than a million dollar bond after police charged him with the murder of a 10-month-old boy in Boone.
Police arrested Ryan Hicks, who they said caused the infant’s death, as well as injuring the boy's 3-year-old brother. Channel 9 learned Hicks, who lives at the home but isn't the father of the children, was babysitting the two boys at the time.
Mother of 10-month old murdered in Watauga county says boyfriend won't say what happened while she was at work. What he told me at noon pic.twitter.com/7zz4GvsLD4
— Dave Faherty (@FahertyWSOC9) March 6, 2017
Hicks, 24, is facing several charges, including second-degree murder and two counts of negligent child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.
First responders were called to a home on Ray Brown Road on March 1 after reports that the 10-month-old boy stopped breathing.
The baby was rushed to a nearby hospital and then transported to another hospital in Winston Salem where he died last Friday. At the request of the family, Channel 9 is not naming the child.
Investigators aren’t saying what they believe caused the baby to stop breathing. Arrest warrants show that Hicks was "grossly negligent" and "showed a reckless disregard for life."
Channel 9's Dave Faherty asked Hicks on Monday if he was sorry for what happened. Hicks nodded his head yes.
"I couldn't believe it. It was a nightmare. I had no idea he was like this," said the child's mother Rebecca Vamvaketis.
Officials: Ryan Hicks arrested, charged after baby stops breathing, dies. 911 call made from this home in Boone. pic.twitter.com/zBVjYY4N1X
— Alexa Ashwell (@AlexaAshwell) March 5, 2017
Vamvaketis said she has known Hicks since grade school. The two starting dating three months ago. She said she had know Hicks had a run-in with the law but wasn't aware of his whole past.
Investigators said Hicks is a registered sex offender, wasn’t living where he said he was and was using social media, which is a violation of his terms.
Channel 9 checked and found out that Hicks was convicted of a sex crime against a 14-year old in 2012.
[PAST COVERAGE: Ryan Neil Hicks charged with statutory rape]
Vamvaketis hopes that Hicks reveals what led up to her 10-month-old's death.
"Ryan please be honest with the court system. Just tell them what you did and it would probably make your life a whole lot easier," Vamvaketis said in a message to Hicks.
Hicks is in jail under a more than $1 million bail and will face a judge again in April.
Officials have not said how the 3-year-old child is doing.
The infant's funeral, which is open to the public, will be on March 19 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Hamptons Funeral Home in Boone.
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