WARE COUNTY, Ga. – A Ware County mother on Monday spoke with News4JAX for the first time following the death of her 16-year-old daughter, who in August was found fatally shot in a crashed car.
She was identified as Jakayla Hicks. Her father, Jacmine Hicks, has been charged with murder in the case.
Shawnda McNish, the teen’s mother, recalled a phone call she received from one of her relatives on the morning of Aug. 18.
“At first, I thought she kept saying, ‘You need to go get Jakayla. You need to go get Jakayla, something’s going on,’ but I’m like half asleep. And I’m like, ‘Where’s she at? Where’s she at?’ And she’s like, ‘She’s gone. No, she’s gone,’” McNish said.
In complete shock, the mother dropped her phone.
“Me just seeing so many people were calling me,” she explained.
According to the Waycross Police Department, Jakayla Hicks was found in a wrecked Dodge Charger in a wooded area off the intersection of Columbus Street and Georgia 520.
Officers performed CPR on Hicks, but she died from her injuries.
“I spoke to the coroner. They wouldn’t let me see her,” McNish said. “They said because of her condition. They said that she had been shot. She had been shot in the head.”
About 24 hours later, a warrant was issued to her father.
“My daughter was innocent and I cried out to so many people and nobody heard me. Nobody listened,” McNish said.
“Every time my heart said, ‘Call the police,’ I was calling the police,” McNish added.
Jacmine Hicks is awaiting trial.