Welby Hunt, age 17, was charged as an accomplice in the robbery and murder of pharmacist C. Ivy Toms. Though Gilmer sought to have Hunt tried separately as a juvenile, both he William Edward Hickman (confessed kidnapper and murderer of 12-year-old Marion Hickman) stood as codefendants in the Toms murder trial. George L. Hunt testified on his son's behalf, outlining his son's life before and after meeting Hickman. Both Hunt and Hickman received sentences of life in prison for the crime and went to San Quentin together. Hickman was executed October 19, 1928 for the Parker murder. Hunt was released on parole.
Photograph of jurors from the Hickman-Hunt trial. William Edward Hickman, who was already sentenced to death for the kidnap and murder of 12-year-old Marion Parker, was tried jointly with Welby Hunt for the murder of C. Ivy Toms, a Rosehill pharmacist, on Christmas Eve of 1926. Hunt received a life sentence but was later paroled. Hickman also received a life sentence but was executed at San Quentin for the Parker murder, October 19, 1928.