The family of a man who was murdered in Walker County seven years ago got to face his accused killer in court Monday.
Marshall Payne, 50, is charged with shooting and killing DJ Fickey in October 2016.
"I've been waiting a long time to stare him in the eyes," said Amanda Shirley, DJ's sister. "I've dealt with this for seven years. But it's still the fact that my brother was killed. So it's never going to get any easier."
The Walker County Sheriff's Office investigated the shooting as a suicide from the beginning. But in 2022, DJ's death was ruled a homicide and this month, police arrested Payne on murder charges.
"We trusted in God the whole time and we're not going to stop trusting him now," said Kathy Fickey, DJ's mom. "He brought us this far and God's going to take care of it."
Monday was the first time since his arrest that DJ's family, including his three kids who were barely born when their father died, got the chance to face him in court.
"We wanted them to see the man who took their dad," said Shirley. "But not only that, but we wanted him to see these kids."
Payne waived his right to an arraignment Monday, meaning he did not enter a plea.
"In some cases, where there may be a lot of media covering a particular incident, you may choose not to have him appear in court to reduce the amount of exposure the case has in the public eye," said Bill Speek, a criminal defense attorney with no affiliation with the case.
But Payne still sat in the courtroom with dozens of family members staring right at him, wearing a sea of orange shirts. Orange was DJ's favorite color for the Tennessee Vols.
"It's just so emotional," said Fickey. "The anger. I mean, I was angry. The next minute I just don't know how to act. Just looking at him, I just think 'you took my baby away from me.' It's so hard."
Payne is scheduled to return on November 6.
