'I just set my sister on fire:' Jury rules Nasif Hibbler 'criminally responsible' for the crime, despite mental illness
Nasif Hibbler'I just set my sister on fire:'
MILWAUKEE -- A jury on Wednesday, Aug. 8 ruled Nasif Hibbler was criminally responsible for the death of his sister, even though he suffered from mental health issues. The jury determined his mental illness shouldn't have impacted his ability to determine right from wrong at the time of Shakira Hicks' death.
That means Hibbler will be sentenced to prison vs. a mental institution. Sentencing is set for the fall.
The jury convicted Hibbler on Tuesday -- finding him guilty of one count of first degree intentional homicide.
Shakira Hicks died on June 3, 2017 at a home near Palmer and Concordia. Afterwards, prosecutors say Hibbler, 32, walked into the Milwaukee Police Department and said "I just set my sister on fire."
Surveillance video shows Hibbler at the MPD station, saying: "I need to be arrested. I set my sister on fire. I just blacked out. No, I didn't mean (for her to die.) I thought maybe she'd burn, but I thought somebody, I heard somebody coming from the stairs, so I thought maybe they would have helped her put the fire out."
A jury on Tuesday, Aug. 7 convicted Hibbler on one count of first degree intentional homicide. The jury then had to decide whether Hibbler was insane at the time -- and whether he should go to prison or a mental institution.
Nasif Hibbler
He told police he got his monthly shot of an anti-psychotic medication the day before, and he was hearing voices.
"He was hoping the voices would stop telling him to do things," said Luke O'Day, MPD detective.
As officers approached the home last June, prosecutors say they could hear beeping from a smoke alarm, and they could smell something burning. When officers pushed the door open, smoke began coming out of the lower unit, where a fire was burning.
Shakira Hicks, who used a wheelchair because she had cerebral palsy, was found lying on the floor in a fetal position just inside the doorway leading into the front room. Hicks was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy was performed, and her death was ruled a homicide.
The charred remains of a wheelchair were found at the scene.
Shakira Hicks
According to the criminal complaint, investigators found a bottle of isopropyl alcohol under a couch at the scene.
Investigators determined Hicks was the "point of origin" for this fire, and the fire was determined to be arson.
The complaint states Hibbler confessed to killing his sister, stating to investigators: "I know I (expletive) up." According to prosecutors, Hibbler said he was able to "talk with other people's brains" -- including his family, correctional officers and famous rappers, and said "people's voices began to talk to him, telling him he better do something or they were going to kill him." He said "famous rappers were trying to sexually assault him through the couch."
Fatal fire at Palmer and Concordia
According to investigators, Hibbler said he "grabbed a full bottle of rubbing alcohol" and "wanted to see that if he showed he was willing to use the rubbing alcohol, the people would stop talking to him."
Shakira Hicks
Eventually, Hibbler said he "got angry," grabbed the alcohol and squeezed the bottle, causing it to fall onto his sister. He said he then used a lighter to set her on fire -- before running to the police station.