HUNTINGTON -- Many questions remain about the death of college student Leah Hickman last year, but interviews with family and friends help provide more details about her final days.

The Huntington Police Department believes the 21-year-old from Mason County died Dec. 14, 2007. Investigators follow a theory that points toward her death as a targeted attack carried out by someone familiar with the layout of her apartment at 403 8th Ave.

Friends, family and many others struggle to understand what motivated the attack.

"I know the police struggle with that question just as much as we do," said half-sister and roommate Jessica Vickers. "We have spent hours going over the whys and never coming up with answers. I guess the only person that honestly knows that answer is the person that took her from us."

Sunday, Dec. 9: Leah Hickman's final week started off routinely. She joined Vickers for their weekly breakfast at Bob Evans. They would drink hot chocolate and Leah always would order pie. Strawberry supreme and cheesecake were among her favorites.

Monday, Dec. 10: Classes resumed at Marshall University. Students were in the process of taking finals.

Thursday, Dec. 13: That day brought a trip to Mason County. Leah Hickman visited her mother, Sherry Russell. She was worried because of some recent tests on her mother's heart.

Leah also spoke with her best friend Caitlin Starkey. They discussed plans for Friday night. Leah was supposed to visit Starkey at a local nightclub where Starkey worked.

Friday, Dec. 14: Vickers woke up Leah Hickman to prepare for a trip to the Huntington Mall. The sisters ate breakfast and headed out for Christmas shopping. They arrived about 9 a.m.

About 11 a.m., they left the mall to return home. Vickers described the trip back as special. She discussed a recent e-mail Leah had sent. Vickers praised her sister for improvements in writing skills.

About 1:30 p.m., Leah called her mother. Russell was cleaning. Leah spoke about coming home that evening, even though she was scheduled to work the next day. Her mother convinced Leah to meet her at the Huntington Mall later that evening.

About 3 p.m., Leah called her father, Mason County Assessor Ron Hickman, at work. He described the conversation as her "checking in." It was their last telephone conversation.

About 3:30 p.m., Vickers returned home for lunch. Vickers packed things for a weekend stay at her boyfriend's. She found Leah in the kitchen washing dishes. Vickers said her sister seemed excited about her grades and her spirits were up. They discussed the upcoming Sunday trip to Bob Evans, and Vickers left.

About 5:30 p.m., Leah visits a local McDonald's. She speaks with another friend by cell phone. Leah talked to her friend about cleaning supplies and said she had plans to spend time cleaning, according to Vickers, Russell and Starkey. It was Leah's last known telephone conversation.

Russell and her stepson eventually arrived at the Huntington Mall. The plan was for Leah to call when she arrived, but Russell's stepson forgot his cell phone in the car and Leah had her mother's phone because of a bad battery. Leah never arrived.

Between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., the mother-son duo left the mall. Russell immediately called her daughter from the car, but the call went straight to voice mail. Russell continued calling through 11 p.m. with the same result. She initially feared Leah was mad.

Starkey called Leah multiple times when she did not arrive at the nightclub. There was no answer. Starkey believed her friend fell asleep, tired from a week of final exams.

Saturday, Dec. 15: Russell started calling again that morning. There continued to be no answer.

That afternoon, Vickers went to the apartment at Russell's request. She said her sister's vehicle was at the residence, along with her purse, keys and wallet, but Leah was nowhere to be found.

At 5 p.m., Leah was scheduled to arrive at her part-time job at Dress Barn in Barboursville. Russell tried to call the business, but continued getting a busy signal or no answer during the busy shopping day.

Starkey also telephoned Leah. She became worried when her voice mail was full. She said Leah always checked her voice mail and returned telephone calls.

Sunday, Dec. 16: Vickers called Leah Hickman again on Sunday morning for their weekly breakfast. There was no answer.

Vickers visited the apartment and found everything in the same place from the day before. She started getting worried and called local emergency rooms searching for her sister.

Russell got in touch with someone at Dress Barn. That store employee informed Russell that her daughter never came to work Saturday, despite many phone calls from the business. Russell's concern grew because it was unlike Leah to miss work.

Russell then called Vickers again and dialed many of Leah's friends in a search for answers. She contacted the West Virginia State Police, and they urged her to contact the Huntington Police Department.

That afternoon, Russell traveled to Huntington to file a missing persons report. She was joined by Vickers, Starkey and another friend.

Later, Russell telephoned Leah's father and informed him about the missing person report. Over the next few days, volunteer search efforts began, a reward was offered and the case gained national media attention.

Friday, Dec. 21: The Huntington Police Department discovered Leah Hickman's body in a crawl space underneath her apartment building.

The Police Department took criticism because the body was not found until a week after Hickman was last heard from. Police Chief Skip Holbrook said he doesn't second-guess that week's effort, as her whereabouts were "a completely unknown factor."

The search effort involved civilians and multiple police agencies. Local authorities used tracking dogs and cadaver dogs. They even flew in a dog from California that specialized in the elimination of scents.

Holbrook said there was nothing to indicate Leah Hickman was located inside of the apartment building. The discovery was the result of a brainstorming session that questioned where foul play would have occurred if it took place. They revisited some places she may have been. That led to the discovery.

Holbrook said a full explanation would require officers to release details crucial to solving the case.

"All that I would say is great lengths went into concealing the body from being discovered," he said. "It is easy for people to say, 'The body was right there the whole time.'"

The discovering officer found Leah Hickman, as he searched on his hands and knees. Holbrook said an earlier hands-and-knees search would have been equal to lining everyone up on a street and saying 'Search.'

Russell, Vickers and Starkey also feel the police did as well as possible. Vickers said "armchair quarterbacks" forget that her sister was thought to be a missing person -- not a homicide victim whose body was missing.

AP Video