Registered sex offender charged with infant's murder in Boone

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.

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.

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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