In the spring of 2016, a quiet community in Sneedville, Tennessee, was shaken by the violent deaths of two of its residents. On April 8th, 57-year-old Ricky Helmick Sr. and his friend, 37-year-old Natasha Riley, were found shot to death inside a residence on Vardy Blackwater Road. The discovery launched an investigation that would soon point to a suspect shockingly close to one of the victims.
The investigation, a joint effort between the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and the
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, quickly focused on Ricky Helmick Jr., the 30-year-old son of the male victim. Within days of the bodies being found, the younger Helmick was identified as a person of interest and was apprehended in neighboring Hamblen County. Initially, he was arrested on a kidnapping charge that was connected to the events surrounding the double homicide. Investigators determined that another relative had been confined during the incident.
As the investigation progressed, the motive behind the killings appeared to be tied to theft. Authorities alleged that Helmick Jr. had shot and killed his father and Natasha Riley in the process of stealing his father's truck. Following the initial kidnapping charge, a Hancock County Grand Jury handed down a much more severe indictment.
Ricky Helmick Jr. was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping, and one count of theft over $1,000. After the indictment, he was being held on a $750,000 bond. In the years that followed, the case proceeded through the legal system, culminating in a jury conviction for theft of property and aggravated kidnapping to facilitate theft.
