BUFFALO — A Buffalo man, captured in Niagara Falls and accused of the cold case murders of two women, has pleaded guilty.
Richard J. Fox, 62, entered his plea to two counts of second-degree murder during a Friday morning hearing in Erie County Court before Judge Suzanne Maxwell Barnes. Fox faces 40 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on his plea in November.
He was accused of the murders of Cassandra Watson and Marquita Mull. Watson is believed to have been killed in Buffalo sometime between 2003 and 2004, while Mull was likely murdered in June 2021.
On Sept. 26, 2021, a hiker, walking along the Chautauqua Rails to Trails near Woleben Road in the Town of Portland, discovered the remains of a human skull. A forensic analysis determined that the skeletal remains had been buried at the site for more than a decade.
The following day, Sept. 27, 2021, investigators discovered Mull’s body, in a shallow grave, as they excavated the site where Watson’s remains had been discovered.
Both women were reported to have been involved in relationships with Fox, a registered sex offender.
Fox was arrested on Jan. 7 as he walked in the 1000 block of Portage Road in the Falls. He was taken into custody by a Falls Police Narcotics & Intelligence Division (NID) detective and a Falls detective assigned to the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force.
Falls police said investigators with the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and the Buffalo Police Department had contacted them for assistance in locating Fox, who was from Buffalo but was living in the Falls at that time. Police said they were told Fox had a warrant for his arrest for failure to register as a sex offender.
The Falls detectives said analysts with the Niagara Intelligence and Crime Analysis Center (NICAC) were able to provide them with information on “possible locations” where Fox might have been staying.
At about 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 7, the Falls detectives said they spotted Fox walking in a supermarket parking lot and took him into custody “without incident.” Fox was then turned over to Buffalo police and was charged with Mull’s murder the next day.
Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane said the families of Watson and Mull have waited a long time for justice.
“I hope that they can continue their journey towards healing with the knowledge that this defendant, who was not offered a reduced plea, will spend the rest of his life in prison for these crimes,” Keane said. “The successful prosecution of this case is the result of years of tireless work and excellent collaboration among the lead investigators, several law enforcement agencies, forensic analysists, genealogy experts, our prosecutors and many others. I thank you all for your dedicated service.”