Mississippi Killer Confessed to Another Murder Before His Execution

A Mississippi man, executed past period for murdering his estranged woman successful 2010, made a startling admittance successful his last days: He had besides killed his sister-in-law 3 years earlier.

The man, David Neal Cox, told his lawyers that helium had been liable for the 2007 slaying of Felecia Cox, who disappeared successful Pontotoc County successful bluish Mississippi, John Weddle, the section territory attorney, said during a quality league connected Monday.

Mr. Cox, 50, gave his lawyers elaborate instructions connected wherever to find her remains, waiving his attorney-client privilege upon his decease truthful that they could stock the accusation with prosecutors aft his Nov. 17 execution, Mr. Weddle said.

Two days later, Mr. Cox’s lawyers sent a missive alerting Mr. Weddle’s bureau to the confession, which they corroborated successful a connection this week.

At the clip that she was killed, Ms. Cox, who was joined to a member of Mr. Cox, was 40. David Cox had agelong been the premier fishy successful the acold case, prosecutors said. His execution by lethal injection was Mississippi’s archetypal successful astir a decade.

“All that helium said was that helium was atrocious for taking my ma distant and that her decease was senseless, and that helium should person ne'er harmed her,” Amber Miskelly, Ms. Cox’s daughter, said successful an interrogation connected Tuesday.

Ms. Miskelly, 32, said that she received a missive connected Monday from Mr. Cox’s lawyers expressing remorse for her mother’s killing.

“I felt relieved, but it upset maine each implicit again,” Ms. Miskelly, who lives successful Ripley, Miss., said.

Mr. Weddle said successful an interrogation connected Tuesday that Mr. Cox had not said however helium had killed his sister-in-law, but that investigators would statesman searching for her remains. They were expected to enlist the assistance of anthropologists and archaeologists from Mississippi State University, helium said.

“He was the past idiosyncratic to spot her live backmost successful 2007, but, of course, helium ne'er confessed to anything,” Mr. Weddle said. “Having thing to instrumentality to a expansive assemblage backmost past would person been astir impossible.”

In May 2010, Mr. Cox fatally changeable Kim Kirk Cox, 40, who had separated from him, portion she was staying astatine a sister’s location successful Union County, Miss., according to court records. As his estranged woman laic determination dying, Mr. Cox repeatedly sexually assaulted his stepdaughter, who was 12, the authorities said.

In 2012, Mr. Cox pleaded blameworthy to 1 number of superior murder, 3 counts of intersexual battery, 2 counts of kidnapping, 1 number of burglary and 1 number of firing into a dwelling during the confrontation, which had led to an hourslong standoff with the police.

A assemblage sentenced him to decease aboriginal that year, but his execution was delayed arsenic helium mounted appeals. Mr. Cox abandoned those appeals successful 2018. This fall, the Mississippi Supreme Court recovered that Mr. Cox had been mentally competent erstwhile helium waived his rights to an appeal.

In a connection connected Monday, Mississippi’s Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel, which represented Mr. Cox, said of his confession to sidesplitting Felecia Cox, “Mr. Cox felt heavy remorse and wanted to bring closure to her family.” The bureau declined to remark further connected Tuesday.