A 2007 cold case could be resolved after a man confessed to another killing prior to being executed for killing his estranged wife.
Before his execution on Nov. 17, 50-year-old David Neal Cox admitted to his attorneys that he also killed his sister-in-law Felicia Cox in 2007. He provided a detailed description of where her remains could be located. Cox made the confession to his attorneys and waived his attorney-client privilege after death, according to The Associated Press.
The information was presented to the office of John Weddle, who is the district attorney for multiple counties in northern Mississippi, two days after Cox’s execution, the AP reported.
“There is no indication that anyone other than Cox is responsible for Felicia Cox’s death,” Weddle said at a press conference Monday, noting that Cox had long been a suspect in the cold case, per the AP.
The district attorney said that the place Cox described was in Pontotoc County, Mississippi though he did not provide specifics about the location, the wire service reported.
He added investigators were preparing to start recovery efforts with Mississippi State University archaeology and anthropology experts available to assist should the remains be located, according to the AP.
“We would like to stress that locating the remains of Felicia Cox is not a foregone conclusion,” Weddle said. “We are hopeful that the information is accurate and that recovery efforts will be successful so that Felicia’s family may give her a proper burial.”
In July 2007, 40-year-old Felicia Cox disappeared after visiting her sister-in-law, Kim Kirk Cox, who was married to David Neal Cox.
In May 2010 Kim Kirk Cox was later killed by her husband. In 2012, Cox pleaded guilty to capital murder for killing his wife in addition to pleading guilty to other charges including sexual assault, the AP added.
Cox, 50, is the first person Mississippi has executed since 2012.