CLARK NV Archives Obituaries.....[HICKS, John W.  1/13/1977]
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Gerry Perry missgerry@cox.net [10/20/2007]

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL
1/14/1977

NO NEW LEADS IN MURDER OF 'NOTED' LAS VEGAN

	Authorities were without leads or motive Friday as an 
investigation continued into the Thursday night slaying of a Las Vegas 
man whose late father developed two Strip hotels.
	John W. Hicks, 31, a floorman at Binion's Horseshoe Club, 
was shot several times in the head about 7 p.m. Thursday at the bottom 
of stairs leading to his plush townhouse at 953 E. Vegas Valley Drive.  
He died at Sunrise Hospital about an hour later.
	Hicks was found by his roommate, Pete Griffith, 47, who 
told police he heard "thumping sounds" outside the townhouse, and 
when he went to investigate he found the body of Hicks slumped over 
the bottom of the stairs.
	Hicks was the son of the late hotel developer Marion B. Hicks 
who developed the Thunderbird and Algiers Hotels on the Strip.
	The younger Hicks himself once was arrested for murder when
in June, 1972 he was taken into custody for the May 30, 1972 murder of 
Robert Murphy.  Those charges subsequently were dismissed by the Nevada 
Supreme Court in February of 1973.
	The complex in which Hicks was shot is a luxurious housing area 
bordering the Las Vegas Country Club.  The complex is fenced all around 
and is guarded by security guards who require identification before anyone 
can enter.
	Police said it was not known how the assailant got onto the grounds 
of the complex but one police spokesman said the grounds could be penetrated 
by any number of means.
	That kind of security only keeps out the good guys," said the spokesman. 
 "This killer could have hid in the trunk of the car, scaled the fence or known 
someone in the complex who let him in."
	Police said it appeard Hicks was shot with a small caliber pistol and 
at least five empty shell casings were found outside the townhouse.]
	Hicks apparently was going down the stairs of the townhouse when 
he was shot but authorities were unable to immediately determine from where 
he was shot.  An officer said Hicks was a "bloody mess" and appeared to have 
been shot several times.  However, his head was so torn apart by the bullets an
 autopsy was necessary to determine just how many times he had been shot, said police.
	Investigators said neighbors did not hear any loud noices or anything 
suspicious just prior to the shooting and except for the thumping sound heard by 
Griffith nothing else was heard by anyone.  Police did not speculate if a silencer 
was used.
	According to records, Hicks was reportedly involved in 1972 in a 
highly organized scheme to cheat area casinos out of millions of dollars, said police.