True Crime with Kendall Rae - The Truth About the Death of DJ Fickey

Episode Date: October 10, 2023

DJ Fickey was a young father of three who was shot and killed in a fight. The shooting was oddly ruled a suicide, and Fickey’s family believe that the law has seriously failed them. Case Update (2023) https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article276266816.html Donate to help fight for justice for DJ: https://www.gofundme.com/f/uvnysb-justice-for-dj Follow: https://twitter.com/JusticeForDj88 PLEASE SIGN THIS: https://www.change.org/p/please-sign-...  Archive episode disclaimer: This is an older archive episode, so the production quality is going to sound different compared to newer episodes. And since this is an older recording, it’s possible that certain updates may not be included. Donate to NCMEC through my campaign! https://give.missingkids.org/campaign/kendall-rae/c438796 This episode is sponsored by: PrettyLitter - promo code: kendallrae Stitch Fix Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - [e-mail]

The University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus combines the resources and reputation of one of the world's top universities with a young and dynamic campus. Join a vibrant community that is shaping tomorrow. Explore UBC's Okanagan campus at ok.ubc.ca Hey everyone, it's Kendall Ray. I just wanted to jump in here with an editor's note. This is actually an older archive episode, so the production quality is going to sound a bit different from my newer episodes. And since this isn't older recording, it's possible that certain updates may not be included.

Now onto the episode. Hello everyone and welcome back to my channel and welcome to another video where I am including family members in it to help tell their loved ones stories. This is now the fourth video I've done including family members in it and I think it's so so important to share their story right out of their mouth. I mean, these people deserve a voice and I know that it's not always the best quality, you know, not all of them are YouTubers and have a whole camera set up like I do. And I know some of you guys like me to tell the whole story, but I do think it is very important

that these people get a place to tell their stories. And so I do want to continue making content like this in the future. So today I'm going to be telling you the story of a man named DJ who sadly lost his life. And I'm going to tell you all the details and everything, but I specifically wanted to take this case on because I think there's a lot of sketchiness

and a lot of unfairness in this case. And I think a lot of that is targeted at DJ because of his lifestyle. And I'll explain more of that, but I want to make it clear that I think that everyone no matter what they were involved in or what they did during their life, they should have justice if they were murdered.

Absolutely. I mean, doesn't this seem like a god-given right that you should have justice if you are killed, no matter how you got into that situation? Well, I think there's a lot of judgment in this story I'm about to tell you today, and there's reasons that is preventing this family for getting justice for their brother, DJ. So let me go ahead and get into the story and explain everything to you guys. You will also be seeing clips in this video from DJ Sister Amanda and his wife, Brandi. So Donald Thickey, Jr. was born on November 14th of 1988.

He was a 27 year old father of three who was currently living in Georgia and he was described as someone who would light up the room. He was actually a member of the Oakwood Baptist Church and he also was an avid university of Tennessee fan. Growing up DJ was really close to his father until he sadly passed away when DJ was only 14 years old and this really had an impact on him in his life. It is that the DJ never fully got over his father's death and it left such a mark on him from that point going forward.

Hi everybody my name is Amanda Shirley. I am DJ Ficky's sister and the main advocate for him since he was killed. Well, DJ was the boy, the only boy of three girls. Him and myself were the two-metre children. We had a special connection, I guess, because of that. We were very close. They were a whole life I remember him aggravating the crap out of us all the time

Anytime we would have friends over or anything like that DJ would want to be stuck right under our butts followed us around You know, he wanted to be in the middle of everything. We didn't want him around but we came to Accept him because he was our brother, but he was an average kid accepting because he was our brother. But he was an average kid. He loved Barney at the Little Boy. As he got older, he got into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers was one of his big things. Fold, if I didn't say that, he was spoiled. His daddy was his world and his, he was his dad's world. They had each other wrapped around their little fingers. He never met a stranger. DJ could walk up to anybody, just anywhere, and strike up a conversation

with them. And they would talk to him like they had new him his whole life. He never met a stranger. He was just, people were lured to him. You could go into a room and DJ would be the one that got your attention. He was the one out there making everybody laugh, you know, telling the jokes, telling the stories, getting everyone's interest. When it comes to doing things around the house, we can all be slackers. I mean, when given a choice between doing something fun or cleaning the litter box, we normally want to do something fun. And that's okay because we use pretty litter.

In our house, we have three cats. We love them so much, but cats can smell. But nothing beats pretty litter's ability to instantly trap odor. It's ultra absorbent, it's lightweight, it's low dust, and one six pound bag works for up to a month without clumping. That means no more wasting litter. But the best part about it for me is that it gives us peace of mind. All my cats are over the age of 10 now and so I am more worried about their health and well-being than ever and pretty

litter's crystals change color to indicate early signs of potential illness in my cats. Things like urinary tract infections, kidney issues, and more. And what's also great is pretty litter is convenient. It ships right to our door so I never run out and I don't have to have huge kitty litter bags taking up space in our house and even better. I don't have to lug those huge tubs from the store to my car and then into my house. We have probably used every brand of kitty litter out there and I hated some of them, especially the really dusty ones. It made changing the box so awful, but now I don't have to deal with that at all with pretty litter. Pretty litter has the best litter that we've ever used, and you'll love it too. Go to pretty litter.com slash kennel ray and use code kennel ray to save 20% on your first order. That's pretty litter.com slash kennel ray.

Code kennel ray to save 20% on your first order. PrettyLiter.com slash Kennell Ray, Kodekendel Ray terms and conditions apply C site for details. So DG eventually ended up marrying a woman named Brandi in 2014. How my name is Brandi Heath and I'm DG Pickie's wife. Women's school and it's pretty much history after school. We get across in each other's paths and eventually we just stay together and then we had kids and we got married.

And things were going pretty good at first, but it wasn't long before they both started experiencing issues and challenges when it comes to substance abuse. And that is the main reason that I don't think DJ has been treated fairly by the law in his case and why a lot of people have judged his case overall because of his use of drugs. And as someone who has, I mean, many people in my family

who are addicts, I understand what it's like to love and addict, you have an addict in your family. And it's a disease like any other and they deserve justice like anyone else would. But both of them being addicts and you know trying to get through that part of their life while also being parents was really difficult and DJ's mother did have to step in quite a bit to take care of their three children. I know a lot of people have had family members or even their self they haven't had drug problems or been addicted to something. I myself am addicted to sweet tea and I smoke so that is an addiction.

I don't feel like people should be judged for addiction on drugs but cause of the fact that everyone is addicted to something. I still to this day say that they didn't have a big drug problem because DJ could come home and stay for months at a time and never use the first drug ever. It was like how some people are social drinkers. DJ was a social drug user. He would he would get around the wrong people and if they were using drugs, DJ would use them. His drug problem didn't get mad until he met up with his wife, Brady. She was also a struggling drug addict, so two drug addicts together didn't really work out very well.

But eventually DJ decided that he did want to go to rehab and try to get his life back on track. And rehab ended up being a great experience for DJ. He really benefited from it. It really encouraged him to turn his life around and inspired him to be the best version of himself. He even started training to be a professional fighter and that became a real passion of his

and you know, a way that he could distract himself from the drugs So while DJ was trying to become clean and get his life on the right track again He was still having issues because Brandi was still having issues with substance abuse Brandi, you know at the time was struggling with addiction and she often would leave him and the kids to go to a man who supplied her drugs. And DJ's family ended up referring to this man as the roommate. Um, we met the roommate through a DJ's friend and he's just a mutual friend of DJ's friend. He's actually a friend of the property owner of where the incident happened. Now this took a big toll on DJ and Brandy's relationship, actually.

They loved each other very much. They were in love. But like I said, Brandy had a drug addiction too. She had a drug problem. And when one would want to get clean, the other one didn't. When the other one wanted to get clean, the other one didn't when the other one wanted to get clean the other one didn't. So it was kind of a clash. They just clashed together. When they would be coming off the drugs, they would argue, have little spats back and forth. And they would end up, end up taking off, you know, one would end up leaving leaving. Of course DJ would be right behind her wherever she went.

Bagganer to come back home, Bagganer, you know, come back. It was a routine with them. We knew what to expect, but they did love each other. I just believe that the drugs cause a lot of problems in their life and their relationship. When they love their kids, they love their kids with all their heart. They had three babies. They had a little boy. When DJ got killed. They had a little boy Jack. He was three. They had a set of identical twin girls. He was a little over a year old. Wendy J got killed. They love their kids. And their kids love them.

Eventually, Brandy and the roommate started having an affair. And not only that, they didn't get along in the first place. DJ and this roommate guy, who we will refer to in this video the whole time as the roommate to protect his identity. But they had a lot of tension between them already. So having this affair on top of things did not make for a good situation. But DJ was a very loyal person and he still wanted to be committed to his wife and see if they could make things work. So DJ would actually go visit Brandi when she was staying with the roommate and try to make things work with her. And sometimes when he was there, oftentimes actually this guy would become violent with DJ. One time when DJ was there in particular, apparently the roommate got really mad about something. They got into some confrontation and room may end up holding a knife up to DJ's neck. DJ was getting out of this shower and when he got out the dude was standing there

holding the knife to his throat. Another time he apparently tried to beat him with a golf club. And DJ tried to fight back with a bad, so the two of them had gone at it a few times. By October 1st of 2016, DJ had officially one brandy over again. They were getting back together and trying to work things out for real. He actually had called back home to talk to his mom and kids and tell them how well he was doing. Wouldn't it be great if you had the right wardrobe to match your evolving lifestyle, whether you're picking up a new activity, looking for maternity wear, or simply bored of your old clothes? Well, the stylists at StitchFix can make sure that you always have something to wear.

I have been using StitchFix for years now, and it really came in handy when I was pregnant. It was so helpful to have updated items coming in whenever I needed them. And to be honest, I just don't have a natural knack for style. I've always struggled to find clothes that I like that fit me well. And I honestly just hate the process of shopping, especially shopping in person. I hate going to dressing rooms. I hate trying things on. I've just had so many bad experiences,

but StitchFix is the best way to shop for new styles and brands. You can think of them as your style partner. Your styles will learn about your taste and collaborate with you on looks you'll love without breaking the bank. You simply share your style, sizes, and budget with a quick style quiz, and Stitch Fix sends you five items and a fix right to your door. You can try everything on at home and keep what you like and send the rest back. And shipping and returns are always free. They have over a thousand

brands and styles so no matter what season of life you're in, stitch fix has you covered. And what I love is you can get your fixes however often you want to, you can order a refresh as needed or set it and forget it with regular fixes, you're in complete control. Personally, I like to get them every three weeks. And what's really cool is over time, your stitch fix stylists will get to know your style more and more. They'll figure out what you don't like, what you do like, and they just get better as you go along. They'll be able to match you with greater precision for perfect pieces based on your likes and dislikes. It's just so easy. Thanks, StitchFix. They

just get me and they'll get you to try today at stitchfix.com slash Kendall Ray and get 25% off when you keep everything in you fix that's stitchfix.com slash Kendall Ray stitchfix.com slash Kendall Ray. DJ and Brandy had actually gotten back together a couple days before he was killed so he was on cloud nine he was happy as he could be. He called and checked in and talked to the kids every very few days and a couple days before he got killed he had actually called and talked to my mom and talked to his little boy

and his little boy told him he wanted to choose to train for Christmas. So DJ made sure to tell my mom not to get that choose to train for Jack that he wanted to be the one that got that for him. So he was making complaint for his future. We were real close, and yet family, we always did everything together. You know, for big family dinners, road trips, vacations, just spent the days together. You know, Sunday, we'd have a big dinner and spend the day together. Mean DJ was good, we're together. We've been staying there and there have been some things that had happened up before the incident and I had felt it in my gut that something was

going to happen. I just didn't know what. And you know, things were fairly normal, but then things got really bad. It took a major turn for the worst on October 3rd of 2016. They were all staying in this house that they referred to as being owned by the old man. But it was kind of just like this group house that like anyone would be in at any given time. It was kind of like, you know, whoever was there was there. That day there were several people there. And apparently him and the roommate were fighting so much and he was getting so violent that DJ ended up reaching out to his mom. About how far away my mom lived when this you know the day that they happened when DJ was

taking her back and for a ride and my mom herself has so many regrets and I tried to explain it to her that she wouldn't have made it even if she had left as soon as DJ since the first text. DJ was killed in Georgia, obviously, as most of y'all know. We live in Alabama, myself and my mom, which is about 45 minutes to an hour away from where DJ was at. So, like I said, if my mom had left the time DJ first text her, she wouldn't have made it in time. She would have actually probably walked into a very bad situation. At the time DJ was texting her about two weeks prior to this, my mom found out from her doctor that she had a bad heart and he had scheduled her for surgery to have a pacemaker

put in. The doctor also recommended that she stayed away from stressful situations, stayed away from stress period, that she needed to take it easy. And with DJ and Breedy around, staying away from stress was pretty hard to do. As you look at these text messages, you can tell there was a major sense of urgency.

And I'm sure his mom looking back, you know, feels all types of things, but it's very hard when you're in a relationship with an addict to know when they really need you and when they don't or when they're going to actually stay around or if they're going to, you know, stick to their promises. It's a hard thing. And so I really have compassion for his mom and understand that she didn't want to leave the house. She mentioned that she was sick and that she didn't want to come get him because of that, but he was worried for his life clearly. You can see in these messages that he was very concerned that the roommate was going to

actually hurt him. You can definitely see the fear. And what's crazy is that within three minutes of him sending that last text message, the roommate dialed 911 and reported that DJ had shot himself in the face with a shot gut. Investigators noted in their reports that the caller changed his story multiple times and failed a polygraph test. According to those reports, he said he was in another room at the time of the shooting. He later told detectives he was wrestling DJ for the gun when it fired. ambulance rushed there but there was nothing they could do. He had a horrible gunshot wound to the face. What do I remember about that day? What was it like for me?

That's a hard question. I've answered it numerous times and every time I answer it it's just it's hard. It's the first time because it brings my memories and flashbacks. And I'll never forget it. I remember it just like it was yesterday. It was the worst day of my life. And I think it will be the worst day of my life for the rest of my life. I'm still to this day in shock and don't wanna believe that it's real.

I remember my mom calling me and telling me that DJ was dead and I hit the floor and I like to say I was in shock. I just kept telling myself no over and over again. I want my husband up and screamed to him and told him that DJ was dead and I was just shaking uncontrollably. But I knew as soon as my mom told me he was dead, what happened and who did it? Suicide never crossed my mind, never. Because I knew DJ wouldn't have never committed suicide.

Now DJ was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for a limited autopsy with the information that this was a self-inflicted Suicide by gunshot along with a bunch of other false information. For example, the corner also told the GBI That the gun was removed from DJ's hand by the first responding officer, which is not true So once DJ's body arrived the medical examiner Automatically ruled it a suicide. Now, along with DJ and the roommate, there were two other people in the room at the time to witness this crime. One of them was a friend of the roommate. He said that he heard the roommate and DJ fighting in the living room and that he went in there to break it up.

He says that he saw the roommate come out of a room on the left side of DJ, pointing gun at him and then the gun suddenly went off. I remember coming out of the bathroom, and soon as I seen DJ sitting on the couch checks in his mom, the roommate come out from behind him and custom-ed in shot. After the incident, I ran towards the roommate in shock, and then I ran outside the house, but I realized that

I left DJ sitting in there. So I went back to him and held his hand and hoped he would pull through. Who would get a shotgun, a giant shotgun and shoot themselves in the face in the middle of a fight with someone else? It's just weird. DJ's family says that there were no signs that he wanted to commit suicide. Not to mention the fact that he was wildly texting her,

clearly worried for his life right up until he died. DJ was right-handed, yet he was shot on the left side of his face, left to right in a downward angle. I mean, do you guys know how hard it would be to shoot yourself with a giant shot gun like that? On the left side of your face when your right hand dominated? And also, it's important to note that the bullet was at a different angle than it normally is in suicide shots. There was a bottle of bleach on the patio table right outside the front door. Not to mention the shotgun that was used to kill a DJ, didn't belong to DJ, it was the roommate's gun.

Not only that, the police never did any forensic testing on the gun itself. Also, when the police first arrived, there was a trash bin that had a white towel with blood all over it in it. Eventually, one of the detectives actually changed the case from suicide to homicide, but the medical examiner and the detective never talked. So it was eventually just ruled a suicide. Family ended up meeting with a private investigator and they ran a toxicology report on him. Medical examiner said that DJ had meth in his system that day,

whether he was actually using it that day, which his family claims that he wasn't, or it was just in his system. And so he claimed that, you know, he should have been able to defend himself because it's a stimulant, but he also had marijuana in his system, which is a depressant, which, you know, kind of counteracts,

and the medical examiner never noted that. And I mean, basically, meth doesn't make you invincible. And if you have it in your system, it doesn't mean that you are like high on method that exact moment. The next day, October 4th, 2016, Brandy went ahead and made a statement. She said that the police were wrong and that DJ's death was indeed a murder. She said that she saw the roommate come out of the room in the back with the gun and shoot DJ. And after this

came out, the investigators went ahead and made the roommate do a polygraph test. And he ended up failing the polygraph test. After the polygraph test, the Walker County Sheriff's Office changed the cause of death to a possible homicide. But despite the sheriff making this change, the DA refused to change the medical examiner's ruling that it was a suicide.

I just assumed everything that they were doing was protocol. That's what they were supposed to be doing because of course I had never dealt with an investigation like this before. They lied to us throughout the investigation many, many times. Nail, they won't have nothing to do with. They won't all do it so they won't return emails. They're done with this case and they want it to go away. Matter of fact, to this day, I'm still waiting for a return phone call from the sheriff of Walker County or even the corner of Walker County that was on the scene because I have questions

about my brother's death, his murder, and I have yet to get a response or a return phone call. Well, the family of a man who has found dead in Walker County more than a year ago wants some answers. Donald Fickie Jr.'s death was ruled a suicide back in 2016, but family members believe it was a homicide. And a letter to detectives in the case, the district attorney said the physical evidence and other witness statements showed the death was a suicide.

Now, Fickie's sister doesn't believe that, and she wants justice for her brother. I knew from the time my mom called me, it wasn't a suicide. Well, y'all knew it wasn't a suicide. He would literally take thing my mother when he was shy. Ficky's sister is one of the reasons she will continue to fight for answers is because her brother left her three children behind. So, DJ's family clearly wants justice for him.

He deserves justice just like anyone else. The family's family clearly wants justice for him. He deserves justice just like anyone else. The family has decided to hire a private investigator. My name is Eric Echols and I'm a private investigator. I was hired by a man to shrill in her family to look to the death of their brother DJ. Some of the evidence that was identified, there was eyewitness who stated that the person of interest actually went and got the gun and from hilded to DJ's head. There was evidence where the 911 take, where the 911 operating

gave specific instructions for the person of interest to tamper with the crime scene. There was no gun residue test done on DJ's hand, there's just countless number of mistakes. The corner did not have all the information needed to solidify or to do her investigation as far as eye-tops was concerned and to rule a homicide. So again, there was a lot of different things that had happened and occurred that led to a misjustice being done in really less suicide. DJ's family wants a Georgia Bureau of investigation to reopen this case. As of right now, they have no intention of doing so.

So they need people to tell them how important it is that everyone gets justice. The family has made a petition to be signed and shared. That will be linked below, so please check that out. It only takes a little bit of time and you can be really making a difference in these people's lives. Also, the family has really struggled financially trying to get justice for DJ. It is not cheap, our own private experts, forensic pathologist, court cost. I mean, just everything you would be so surprised and shocked at how expensive this can be. You're looking at, you can get into a couple of hundred thousand dollars

if it had to go that far. Hopefully you don't have to go that far. Every penny's worth it that I spend on DJ's case and I'll continue to do so. It just hurts my family financially when I have to do it. They just looked at it as he was just another drug addict off the street, no big deal, but that isn't the case whatsoever. DJ was loved. He was loved more than anything in this world. He still is.

And I'm not going to give up and accept what they told us because what's right is right, wrong is wrong. And letting someone get away with murder is not right. How can people help? Can letters be written? Yes, most definitely. Send letters to the District Attorney of Walker County. Send letters to the Georgia Attorney General's Office. Send letters to the governor, column, email them, do whatever it takes, but as much pressure on these people as you can to get them to do the right thing. They're wanting to ignore this and make it go away because they mess this case up. And they're not willingly going to admit it.

And as long as the pressure's not on me, they're not going to do anything. They'll figure I'll give up and I'll go away. You know, nobody cares and nothing will ever be done. You know, DJ, just because he had trouble with drugs and he was around the wrong crowd, doesn't mean he doesn't deserve justice at the end of the day, you know? He was a father, he was a son, a brother,

he was a person and he was living his life. He was trying to get his life back on the right track and who knows what he could have done if he continued on. There is social media accounts as well to follow. If you wanna stay up to date on DJ's case, I'm so sorry for DJ's family having to do with this, you know, it's hard enough to lose a loved one as it is, but then having to fight

for them and go through all these obstacles and, you know, just a bunch of bullshit, legal bullshit is just so draining and not what they should have to do. I mean, his sister told me she feels like she hasn't even had time to grieve his death because she's been in, you know, fight mode ever since. So it's tough stuff that these people are going through and I really appreciate all of you guys taking the time to listen and take his story seriously. There's so many things I miss about DJ. Everything.

I miss everything about DJ. That was my little brother, my one of my best friends, and I miss him every day. Sorry. What do I want people to remember about DJ in his case. I want them to remember how big of a heart DJ will have, how good of a person he was, how he was there for anybody and everybody. He would do anything for you. He would go out of his way to help someone.

He was just a wonderful man and he had so much left in this life that he could have done and it was taken away from him way too soon. I want people to see how easy it is to have an injustice and I want people to remember to stand up and fight it. Don't accept it. Do something about it. Don't give up. The last thing I'd like to add is I would like to tell everybody that has supported us, helped us, taught us, been there for us, financially, emotionally, physically, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It means the world to us. I couldn't honestly continue to fight and get through this without all of y'all's help and support and encouragement. It's hard, it's a hard battle. And just always, always be there for victims' families and help them

any way you can because there is so much, there's not nobody we can turn to. There's not hardly anyone out there that can help us. So we need your help. That's it. Thank you. that can help us. So we need your help. That's it. Thank you. That is going to be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode. And make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then, stay safe out there.