In the late hours of a Saturday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a tragedy unfolded that would claim the life of 35-year-old Shakira Hicks, a Black/African American woman with cerebral palsy. On June 3, 2017, on North Palmer Street, a dispute, reportedly over a sum of twenty dollars, escalated to a horrific act of violence. Hicks, who used a wheelchair, was in her home when the argument with her brother, Nasif Salaam Hibbler, took a fatal turn.
In a shocking confession, Hibbler admitted to
dousing his sister with rubbing alcohol and setting her on fire as she sat in her wheelchair. Although emergency services were called to the scene for a fire, it was small enough to be extinguished with a fire extinguisher. Four other individuals managed to escape the residence, but Hicks succumbed to the severe burns she sustained and was pronounced dead at the scene. Neighbors in the typically vibrant community were left in shock, struggling to comprehend the violent death of a woman one described as "real cool" and someone they had known since childhood.
Shortly after the incident, Hibbler, who was 30 years old at the time, turned himself into the Milwaukee Police. The case was presented to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, and Hibbler was charged with first-degree intentional homicide. He was subsequently convicted for the murder of his sister. For his crime, Nasif Salaam Hibbler was sentenced to 43 years to life in prison.
