RUSH COULD SERVE 66 YEARS FOR DOUBLE MURDER - Cox Murder Trial Postponed

(03/19/2005)

Convicted murderer Ronnie Rush could spend up to 66 years in prison for committing the murders of Calhoun residents Ward Groves and and his ex-wife Mary Hicks in May, 2003. Rush stood before Judge Thomas Evans III yesterday in Calhoun Circuit Court to hear his sentence. During his trial and subsequent hearings, Rush did not appear to comprehend that he had been found guilty of one of Calhoun's most gruesome murders. Yesterday, spectators said Rush became upset after hearing his sentence, although he remained calm while the judge read his fate. Groves and Hicks were shot to death in their beds, with robbery being the motive. Sentences: - Count 1, voluntary manslaughter, 15 years - Count 2, voluntary manslaughter, 15 years - Count 3, robbery 35 years - Count 4,nighttime burglary, 1-15 (indeterminate) The first four counts will run consecutively. - Count 8, a concurrent sentence 1-5 years for conspiracy. Rush was also fined $10,000, ordered to pay court costs and burial expenses of the deceased. Rush will spend his time in the state penitentiary. The Christopher Cox murder trial which was scheduled for April has been postponed until the August term of court. Calhoun Prosecutor Matt Minney said a hold-up over DNA evidence is causing the trial to be delayed. A plea hearing for Adam Parsons was also rescheduled.

Hur Herald ®from Sunny Cal The information on these pages, to the extent the law allows, remains the exclusive property of Bob Weaver and Dianne Weaver The Hur Herald. All information may be freely used but must not be sold or used in any type of commercial endeavor, or used on any web site without the express permission of the owners ©Bob and Dianne Weaver, The Hur Herald, 1999, 2000, 2001