Man sentenced to life in prison for Dubuque slaying

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) - A 28-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing a woman at her Dubuque home.

Eddie Hicks was not in the courtroom to hear his sentence or the victim-impact statements from 21-year-old Kahdyesha Lemon’s mother and sister, The Telegraph Herald (https://bit.ly/2jtbGtP ) reports. His attorney Christopher Welch says Hicks refused to attend in person or via video, calling the process “a joke.”

Hicks was convicted of first-degree murder in November for hitting Lemon with a skillet and stabbing her more than 110 times in June 2015. First-degree murder in Iowa carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Hicks had pleaded not guilty, and argued during his trial that he had acted in self-defense.

Lemon’s mother Cotina Phillips and sister Ronshanda Lemon gave statements at the sentencing. Phillips says she has no hate for Hicks, but will instead use her energy to pray for him and remember positive memories of her late daughter.

Phillips said her daughter had been accepted into college just before her death, but Lemon didn’t know it. Phillips said she found the acceptance letter in Lemon’s mailbox after her death.

“She was headed in the right direction,” she said. “She had her whole life ahead of her.”

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Information from: Telegraph Herald, https://www.thonline.com