Key witness reveals why he waited 24 years to expose Regina Rowe-Hicks' killer

A key witness who stayed silent for 24 years out of fear has spoken publicly for the first time about why he finally came forward to help convict the man who murdered Regina Rowe-Hicks — her estranged husband, Paul Hicks — in a case that went unsolved for more than two decades.

PEOPLE obtained an exclusive clip from an upcoming Dateline special in which witness Steve Gates speaks to correspondent Keith Morrison about the threats that kept him quiet for years.

Why the witness stayed silent

Gates, who was a friend of Hicks, told Morrison he had endured years of intimidation before deciding to speak to police. "I was tired of the threats, I was tired of looking over my shoulder, waiting to see where [Paul Hicks] was gonna be," Gates says in the clip.

When Morrison asked whether Gates had spent years watching his back following threats from Hicks, Gates confirmed the fear had been constant. "He always had an angle," Gates said. "I didn't do very well documenting the threats with law enforcement but there was threats." Gates said his life was threatened on multiple occasions in the years following the murder.

What Gates told police

Rowe-Hicks, 25, was found dead in a car submerged at the bottom of a pond in Ohio in October 2001. She had been expected to collect her son but never returned. Authorities discovered she had suffered blunt force trauma and treated her death as a homicide from the outset.

Gates ultimately changed his account and told police that Hicks had knocked Rowe-Hicks unconscious, placed her in the passenger seat of the car, driven it into the pond, and jumped clear before it sank.

Conviction and sentencing

Hicks, now 50, was arrested in 2025 and subsequently convicted of murder. In January 2026, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost responded to the sentencing with a pointed statement. "Today a killer is held accountable, although 24 years after the crime, it's a stark reminder that truth has no expiration date," Yost said. "Prison bars will now restrain the evil that stole Regina from her loved ones."

The Dateline episode, titled "Secrets Unmasked," airs on Friday at 10pm Eastern on NBC.