Man who killed his dad while he was eating a salad and told dispatcher it felt ‘great’ is sentenced

COMAL COUNTY, Texas (TCN) — A 27-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for fatally shooting his father while the victim was eating on the couch.

The Comal County District Attorney’s Office announced that on Jan. 24, a jury sentenced Yacob Hickman to life in prison for the murder of his father, identified by the sheriff’s office as 51-year-old Paul Stautzenberger.

According to deputies, on Jan. 29, 2022, shortly after midnight, authorities responded to a home on Campbell Drive to a report of a possible shooting. Hickman reportedly called 911 and told the dispatcher he had “emptied six rounds into his father” and added, “I can’t say that I’m sorry.”

Prosecutors said Hickman stayed on the call with the dispatcher for over 20 minutes, “acknowledging that he should control his anger and that he was fully aware of the consequences of his actions.” Hickman allegedly told the dispatcher, “To be honest with you, I feel so [expletive] great.”

Officers found Stautzenberger deceased with six gunshot wounds to his neck and head. According to the district attorney’s office, Hickman shot his father while he was sitting on the couch eating a salad.

The jury listened to Hickman’s 911 call and heard testimony from deputies and a crime scene technician during the trial.

A week before the shooting, Hickman had reportedly moved from Louisiana to Canyon Lake, Texas, “at his father’s encouragement, in hopes of finding better employment opportunities.”

Prosecutors said Hickman made jailhouse phone calls at the Comal County Jail while awaiting trial that were recorded and presented. Hickman reportedly said during calls that he and his father “were having a simple conversation,” but Stautzenberger “kept on wanting to run his [expletive] mouth.”

Hickman allegedly told his mother during a call that “the most important thing is that if I ever did get out of here is what guarantees me from ever getting stuck in positions that would cause me to come back?”

Family members spoke at the sentencing hearing and expressed that Hickman “killed the one person who truly wanted him to succeed.”

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