HOUSTON – Laura Alexander speaks lovingly and longingly of her sister Amalia who vanished without a trace almost eight years ago to this day in September 2016.
“Amalia always made me smile. Made me laugh. She was the best big sister anyone could ever have and I miss her so much everyday,” she said.
After an exhaustive search by Texas Equusearch and many others, finally in November of that year, Amalia’s decomposed body was discovered in a remote field in Montgomery County.
Prosecutors had alleged that Amalia’s estranged boyfriend, who had beaten her in the past, Jarvis Hickerson had killed her to shut her up and keep her from testifying against him in court in a brutal domestic violence case that would have sent him back to prison.
For eight long years, the vicious murder has haunted all of Amalia’s family including her sister Laura, who idolized her.
“He took half of me, he took half my heart. I had to learn how to live again after he killed my sister,” Laura said.
Wednesday, after eight years of trial resets, court delays and four different defense attorney changes, Jarvis Hickerson, faced a jury and after more than a week of testimony, was found guilty of capital murder.
At last, justice for Amalia’s long suffering family.
”Now we have closure and that’s the best feeling, it’s the best reward, no matter that it took eight years, we got that closure today,” Laura said.
One of the most powerful pieces of evidence was a video tape shown to the jury showing Hickerson loading a large object the size of a body into the back of his pickup truck.
But also during this trial, a startling moment.
After the verdict of guilty was given, the family of Amalia Alexander was asked to give their victim impact statements as to how painful what Jarvis Hickerson did was for them over these many years.
At that point, during Laura Alexander’s reading, Hickerson suddenly stood up in court and mocked the family, criticizing what they were saying.
”He specifically said this is bull---- and stood up and tried to walk away and said get me out of here and the bailiffs had to detain him in the room so that the Alexander family could finish their impact statement,” said the prosecutor for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Still, for Amalia’s family, justice has finally been served and Laura Alexander knows exactly what she will tell her sister in prayer Wednesday night.
“I will tell her this is all for you and we are not silenced anymore. This is all for you,” she said.
Jarvis Hickerson is now guilty of capital murder and was sentenced to life in prison without any possibility of parole, meaning he will die in a Texas prison.