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Man Gets 35 Years In Prison For Murder Of 56-Year-Old Woman

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 36-year-old man was sentenced to 35 years in prison Tuesday for murdering a woman and trying to conceal her remains.

Anoka County District Court Judge James Cunningham said Mo Savoy Hicks, of New Brighton, acted with "particular cruelty" after he killed Judy Rush, 56, in 2007. Her remains were found four years later in Brookdale Park.

Police reported to Rush's apartment in Columbia Heights in August of 2007, after relatives reported her missing. Officers found blood on the walls, carpet and mattress in her bedroom and three bloody shoe prints in the hallway. Investigators eventually pinned Hicks to the crime and arrested him for murder.

At trial, Hicks decided to fire his lawyer and represent himself. He waived his right to a jury trial and decided to have a judge hear the case.

A jail inmate testified that Hicks told him he killed Rush with a hammer, wrapped her body in a sheet and carried it out of her apartment in a hockey bag.

The judge found Hicks guilty of second-degree murder.

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