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Homicide suspect appears in court

JANESVILLE — No trial date was set Thursday in the homicide case against a Milton man accused of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend in Janesville.

Kyle E. Hicke, 37, of 108 Forest Lake Drive, Milton, appeared in Rock County Court for a scheduling hearing.

Hicke is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless endangerment, possession of a firearm by a felon and attempting to flee or elude an officer.

He was arrested April 22 after a high-speed chase following the murder of Erica M. Ostenson, 25, of 412 1/2 S. Academy St., Janesville.

Hicke’s attorney, Laura Breun, assistant state public defender, said lawyers on both sides are still exchanging evidence in the case.

She asked the judge for a court hearing at a future date to discuss any motions that might be filed in Hicke’s defense. A trial date could be scheduled then.

Judge James Daley scheduled Hicke’s next court appearance for Thursday, July 30.

Hicke appeared in court in an orange jailhouse uniform, glasses, shoulder-length hair and a goatee. About a dozen of Ostenson’s friends and family members attended the hearing.

According to the criminal complaint:

Hicke was smoking marijuana and heartbroken the morning he is accused of killing Ostenson.

He grabbed a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol in his father's closet and went to talk to Ostenson at her home.

She rejected him.

Hicke then repeatedly punched Ostenson in the face and shot her multiple times.

He led police on a high-speed chase through Janesville and Beloit after the shooting and was arrested after police cars rammed his vehicle.

Hicke previously stood mute to the charges, and the court entered a not guilty plea for him.

He remains in the Rock County Jail on $1 million cash bond.

If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.