Photo by Candice Black Scott Hickman, shown in Washington County Common Pleas Court today with his attorney, James Owens. Hickman's bond was reduced from $2 million to $500,000.

A $2 million bond set for a man charged with the murder of a woman and her child was reduced to $500,000 in Washington County Common Pleas court Tuesday afternoon.

Scott Hickman, of Waterford, was indicted on aggravated murder charges last October for the death of Kimberly and Daniel Fulton, her 17-month-old son, whose bodies were discovered after a house fire on County 6 Road in Marietta on March 5, 1995.

He appeared Tuesday before Judge Mark Kerenyi for a hearing regarding a motion filed by his attorney James Owens earlier this month to reduce bond.

“The strength in this case is about as weak as I’ve ever seen. He’s essentially being used as leverage in trying to gain some traction against the main suspect who was in charge. It is essentially, an aided and abbetter case,” Owens said.

Owens said Hickman’s then ex-girlfriend spoke to law enforcement for the second time about a year after the fire and referenced “information contamination. In 1996, a series of news articles came out in July where they talked about this death and go over the theory of guilt the police had that it was arson. A whole host of things became a part of the news media and talk of the community,” he said. “She came up with this version of events that was consistent with the news articles that had been published after the initial interviews.”

His ex-girlfriend said Hickman spoke in rhymes and riddles and said he was there when the fire occurred, according to Owens. He mentioned the no bill issued from a grand jury in 1998 and said he passed a polygraph test.

Owens said there wasn’t much evidence in the years between 1998 and 2021, when Hickman was indicted. He said Kimberly’s ex-husband, within the past year, told law enforcement he saw Hickman in the passenger’s seat of a vehicle driving near her house the night of the fire.

“He says he remembers from 26 years prior that Mr. Hickman was in the passenger’s seat. He had been interviewed or contacted by police at least nine times prior. So it’s hard to say that that would be any new evidence,” Owens said.

Hickman was interviewed and said he was driving past Kimberly’s house on the way to his parents’ house, where he was staying that night, Owens said. Since the 1998 indictment, Kimberly’s sister penned a memo saying she had visited Hickman in prison at least four time while he was in prison the first time.

“She remembers the first time she went in, she’s asking him ‘how could you do this?’ and he just doesn’t say anything,” Owens said.

When she visited him a second time on Daniel’s birthday, she sang happy birthday and Hickman looked away, according to Owens.

“I hardly believe that’s evidence of any import,” he said.

State’s attorney Daniel Kasaris agreed that bond should be reduced due to a change in the law and requested a $1 million bond.

“We feel the strength of our case is good,” he said.

He referenced a questionnaire filled out by Hickman’s ex-girlfriend and said as she was filling it out, she remembered additional details about the day of the fire. In the questionnaire, she said Hickman and Daniel’s father took a gas can into Kimberly’s trailer.

The questionnaire, included in the state’s response to the bond reduction motion, said Daniel’s father was upset with Kimberly because she “took him to court to establish paternity for her son Daniel,” and that his father’s identity was confirmed. It said he feared losing his house, farm, family and income, had access to Kim’s trailer and would sneak out at night to go to her house.

Hickman picked him up, according to the questionnaire, drove Daniel’s father to Kimberly’s house and the two took gasoline into the trailer. The questionnaire said Hickman saw Daniel’s father smother Kimberly and their son with a pillow and took the gas, poured it on the furniture and lit the home on fire.

According to the state’s response to the bond reduction motion, the primary suspect is Daniel’s biologial father.

“(He) denied wrongdoing. The ex-husband of Kim Fulton was excluded as a potential suspect after a thorough investigation,” it said. “It was learned that Hickman was (Daniel’s father’s) accomplice.”

Kasaris argued bond should not be less then $1 million because of Hickman’s risk of suicide.

“(Hickman), in his own words, admits to attempting to commit suicide, admits to putting a gun to his head,” he said. “I think that risk is there again.”

Hickman was issued a $500,000 cash or surety bond and will be placed under supervision by the Washington County Probation Department pretrial services. He was ordered to be on home confinement with a GPS monitor.

A hearing regarding the motion to dismiss the case will be Aug. 2 at 9 a.m.

Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.