SPARTANBURG MAN RECEIVES 25-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR DOMESTIC HOMICIDE

A Spartanburg man received a 25-year prison sentence today after he admitted to beating his girlfriend to death.

Ruben Hicks, 45, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He will serve 85 percent of Circuit Judge Roger Couch’s prison sentence before he is eligible for release. Annie Lou Towery, 73, called 911 on Oct. 14, 2005 to report that she had been beaten by Hicks. Towery told an officer and friends that Hicks jumped on her and beat her in the face while she was in bed. He pulled her out of bed and dragged her into a nearby bathroom where he beat her head against the shower stall door.

Towery sought treatment the following day at Mary Black Memorial Hospital. She had bruises on her arms and she was bleeding in places. She had a bite mark on her face, two black eyes and bruises on her forehead. Towery was diagnosed with a ruptured eardrum.

Towery’s family found her unconscious in her bed four days later. She died at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center.

Doctors determined that Towery died as a result of a brain injury that involved swelling and bleeding.

The charge was upgrade from criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature to murder after her death. Towery’s family concurred with the decision to plead the case to voluntary manslaughter.

During an interview with sheriff’s deputies, Hicks said he hit Towery after they got into an argument over his drinking habits.

Hicks’ criminal record spans 27 years with numerous arrests on domestic violence, drug and alcohol charges. His criminal record includes five domestic violence convictions for crimes committed on Towery.

“Ms. Towery was caught in a vicious cycle of violence,” Assistant Solicitor Cindy Crick said. “The fatal attack occurred a few months after the defendant finished serving a prison sentence for a similar attack on her.”