Brien Hickman

CrimePAY$ $5,000 Murder Reward TipLine 1-888-755-TIPS (8477)

10-17-12 Update: BEE COUNTY – Sheriff Carlos Carrizales says the man who took his own life yesterday at a ranch near Beeville is believed to be responsible for the murder of his brother-in-law last month.

Mike Stuart took a lie detector test yesterday while being questioned about the September 26th shooting death of Brien Hickman. Stuart was allowed to go home and talk to his wife after questioning.

When investigators showed up at the house on Wofford Lane to talk to him further, they heard a single gunshot. Stuart was found dead from an apparent suicide.

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BEEVILLE, TX — The Coastal Bend Crime Stoppers organization is offering a $5,000 reward for any information that could lead to an arrest in the Sept. 26, 2012 murder of local rancher Brien Hickman.

This is the first time the organization has offered more than the traditional $1,000 Crime Stoppers reward.

Hickman was gunned down as he stepped out of his vehicle, apparently to clear something out of his driveway, at the entrance to his ranch just east of Beeville.

According to authorities who were at the crime scene that morning, the 54-year-old victim was shot once in the left side of the head with a shotgun.

Hickman was laid to rest Tuesday after a large crowd attended his funeral service at Beeville’s First United Methodist Church.

Crime Stoppers representative Armando Musquez confirmed that the organization will increase its reward offer this time to improve the possibility of getting a tip that could solve the murder.

So far, Deputy Investigator Adam Levine is withholding any information on how the investigation into the murder is proceeding. Several deputy sheriffs and almost 20 volunteers teamed up Friday morning for a thorough line search of the crime scene off Wofford Lane.

Although deputies might have found a few items that could have been considered evidence, investigators were not commenting.

Deputies believe that Hickman was either ambushed by the gunman or he knew the assailant because there were no wounds to suggest that he tried to defend himself.

Investigators reported that some neighbors actually heard the gunshot. Also, officers said that Hickman was found by his daughter, who had left the ranch house about 10 minutes behind Hickman.

Deputies have reported that they received a number of leads and they are looking at each one of them. But investigators are not commenting on what those leads are.

CrimePAY$ $5,000 Murder Reward TipLine 1-888-755-TIPS (8477)

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 7th, 2012 at 10:40 am and is filed under $5,000+, Solved, Texas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.