Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / At the Walker County Courthouse, Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Clayton Fuller speaks Nov. 25, 2025, about the conviction of Marshall Payne for the 2016 murder of D.J. Fickey. Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / At the Walker County Courthouse, Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Clayton Fuller speaks Nov. 25, 2025, about the conviction of Marshall Payne for the 2016 murder of D.J. Fickey.
By Ignacio Perez 4 min read
Marshall Payne was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday after being found guilty of the 2016 murder of Donald Edward Fickey Jr. in Walker County.
“This Thanksgiving is very special to us because we’ve actually got a lot to be thankful for,” Fickey’s mother, Kathy Fickey, said at a press conference in the Walker County courthouse. “It’s the first holiday in nine years that we can have some peace and D.J. can rest in peace.”
Family members pushed for justice through the years, even hiring a private investigator. They were convinced Fickey had not taken his own life. The District Attorney for Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, Clayton M. Fuller, said the Fickey family’s perseverance was one of the critical reasons the case was able to make it to the finish line.
“Last week’s verdict brings long overdue truth to a case that was buried under lies and shifting stories,” Fuller said at the Tuesday press conference.
Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / At the Walker County Courthouse, Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Clayton Fuller speaks Nov. 25, 2025, about the conviction of Marshall Payne for the 2016 murder of D.J. Fickey.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Kathy Fickey, mother of D.J. Fickey, speaks at the Walker County Courthouse on Nov. 25, 2025, at a press conference about the conviction of Marshall Payne in the 2016 murder of D.J. Fickey.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Kathy Fickey, mother of D.J. Fickey, speaks at the Walker County Courthouse on Nov. 25, 2025, at a press conference about the conviction of Marshall Payne in the 2016 murder of D.J. Fickey.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Chief Assistant District Attorney Deanna Reisman speaks Nov. 25, 2025, about the conviction of Marshall Payne for the 2016 murder of D.J. Fickey.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / At the Walker County Courthouse, Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Clayton Fuller speaks Nov. 25, 2025, about the conviction of Marshall Payne for the 2016 murder of D.J. Fickey.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Detective Sergeant Allen Ellenburg speaks Nov. 25, 2025, at a press conference about the conviction of Marshall Payne.Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson speaks Nov. 25, 2025, at a press conference about the conviction of Marshall Payne.
