in keeping with traditionalist singaporean pressures placed upon her, hicks had begun to mature her image regarding her personal relationships and sexual reputation, whether her actual deeds fully deserved the reputation or not. she made plans to marry, settle down, and have children. shortly before her death, hicks became engaged to her longtime boyfriend, richard "randy" dalrymple, an american architect of some regional prominence because of his unique structures in singapore and jakarta, once featured in "architectural digest". it was to celebrate christmas with dalrymple's family that hicks and dalrymple boarded silkair flight 185 in jakarta en route to singapore, probably their first such visit to the home of dalrymple's parents as an engaged couple. the young couple never arrived, died en route, as their flight crashed into the musi river.