24 years of silence
Eyewitness Steve Gates kept silent about witnessing Paul Hicks murder Regina for 24 years, driven by fear and threats on his life.
Where this was said
Steve Gates Finally Speaks: The Secret Witness Comes Forward
At 31:14 · chapter starts 30:36
Twenty-four years after staying silent, Steve Gates sat down with investigators. He had a life-threatening kidney disease and said he wanted to clear his conscience. Back in 2001, he was just 20 — a younger, less dominant figure in his friendship with Paul, who was older, taller, and intimidating. On the night of October 2001, Regina arrived at his farm to pick up Montana. She and Paul argued. Steve walked away for 15 minutes. When he returned, he found Regina crumpled in the car. Paul told him bluntly: 'Dude, she's effing dead.' Terrified and overwhelmed, Steve followed Paul's lead: he drove Paul's car (with Montana asleep in the back seat) while Paul drove Regina's car to a nearby pond and pushed it in with her inside. Steve insists he never touched Regina, never drove the car into the pond — but he also never called 911 and lied to investigators for two decades, sustained by Paul's threats on his life.
Key witness had life-threatening kidney disease
Steve Gates came forward in 2024 partly because he was diagnosed with life-threatening kidney disease and wanted to clear his conscience before he died.
Steve Gates Breaks 24 Years of Silence
Facing a life-threatening kidney disease, Steve Gates — who had been present when Paul Hicks murdered Regina in 2001 — finally agreed to tell the truth in 2024. For decades he had stayed silent out of fear of Paul's threats. His testimony would become the backbone of the murder case.
What Steve Gates Saw That Night
Steve Gates described walking away during an argument between Regina and Paul, then returning to find Regina crumpled unconscious in her car. Paul told him she was dead, and Gates — just 20, intimidated, and terrified — followed as Paul drove Regina's car into a nearby pond. He never touched her, but he never spoke up either.
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