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Celebrity cowboy, 43, with disastrous marriage history is handed enormous jail sentence for beating elderly man to a pulp after victim asked him to repay debt
Ethan Treadwell, a 43-year-old former contestant on reality show Ultimate Cowboy Showdown, has been sentenced to a decade in state prison after brutally beating 74-year-old William "Junior" Hicks in Oklahoma. Prosecutors said Treadwell attacked Hicks in January 2024 outside his cattle farm in Hobart after the elderly man confronted him over unpaid money owed under a land-leasing arrangement, leaving him with life-altering injuries. The case highlights the severity of the assault, which was reportedly fuelled by intoxication and a financial dispute between neighbours who lived on the same road.
Treadwell, who was allegedly drunk and with his now ex-wife Kendall Cross at the time, knocked Hicks to the ground before punching and kicking him more than ten times, prosecutors said, inflicting a fractured skull, traumatic brain injury, an orbital "blowout" and the loss of 15 teeth. Hicks was airlifted to hospital, ventilated and underwent facial reconstruction surgery, later needing further surgery after complications with a metal plate; he subsequently suffered a stroke and has been left wheelchair-bound. Treadwell was initially charged with aggravated assault and battery but pleaded down to maiming, receiving 10 years in prison plus 15 years suspended, after prosecutors disputed his claim of self-defence against a man he said was armed with pliers but who, evidence showed, was actually holding a phone.
In short
- Ex-reality TV cowboy jailed 10 years for beating elderly neighbour
- Attack over unpaid land-lease debt left victim with life-changing injuries
- Victim later suffered a stroke and is now wheelchair-bound
Explained simply
Ethan Treadwell is a former contestant on the US reality series Ultimate Cowboy Showdown, which features people competing in cowboy and ranching skills. He lived near William “Junior” Hicks in Hobart, Oklahoma, where their dispute concerned money owed under an arrangement to lease land.
The case centres on the difference between a financial disagreement and the serious violence that followed. Prosecutors said Hicks was holding a phone, not pliers, during the confrontation; Treadwell’s claim that he acted in self-defence was disputed. Hicks suffered severe injuries that have had lasting effects on his health and mobility.