In the winter of 2016, the life of 54-year-old Rose Marie "Rosie" Harris was brought to a sudden and violent end in her Salt Lake City, Utah, home. On December 17, police were dispatched to perform a welfare check at her residence in the Capitol Hill area, where they discovered she had been fatally shot. The call that led to this grim discovery was not from a concerned neighbor or a distant relative, but from the woman who lived with her, Sue Mary Hickman.
The investigation quickly
focused on Hickman, who was 53 at the time. In a startling admission to the police dispatcher, Hickman confessed to the shooting. She stated, "I shot her, I did it. She made me snap. I couldn't take it anymore, her drinking." This confession was reportedly repeated to several other individuals as well as to police officers. The two women were described as partners who cohabited in the home where the shooting occurred.
Sue Mary Hickman was arrested and subsequently charged with homicide in connection with Rose Harris's death. The legal proceedings that followed painted a picture of a volatile relationship, with testimony suggesting there were both wonderful times and terrible times, often exacerbated by alcohol. Hickman was ultimately tried on a charge of murder.
In March 2019, a jury found Hickman guilty of the lesser offense of manslaughter, concluding that she had acted under extreme emotional distress at the time of the shooting. A judge sentenced her to a term of one to 15 years in prison for the death of her partner, recommending she serve the full sentence without credit for the time she had already spent in jail. During the sentencing, Harris's sister addressed a tearful Hickman, stating, "I forgive you." Rose Harris, born in Logan, Utah, on May 4, 1962, was remembered by her family as an intelligent and funny woman who was also tender and vulnerable.
