Women’s Remains Found After Map From Executed Murderer Leads Authorities to Possible Site of Deceased Relative

The hand-drawn map of a Mississippi inmate on Death Row has led authorities in the state to discover the remains of a woman whom he said he killed in 2007, CBS News reported.

David Neal Cox, 50, was executed on November 19, in Mississippi, being the state’s first execution in 9 years, according to CBS News. Cox was on Death Row for pleading guilty in 2012 to the murder of his wife and sexually assaulting her daughter two years prior, CBS News reported.

Cox abandoned all appeals and filed court papers calling himself "worthy of death" before the state Supreme Court set his execution date, CBS News reported.

Prior to his execution, Cox waved his attorney-client privileges and told authorities that he knew the whereabouts of his former sister-in-law, his brother’s wife, and that he had killed her in 2007, the New York Post reported. Cox even drew the authorities a map as to where they could find her remains.

Following his admission, Cox’s information was presented to the district attorney’s office two days after Cox's execution, CBS News reported. On Sunday, authorities followed the map that Cox drew and found remains, presumably those of Felicia Cox, NBC News reported.

Pontotoc County Coroner Kim Bedford announced on Monday that the remains were recovered in her jurisdiction and told reporters, “we have reason to believe it is [Felicia Cox].”

The remains were taken to a medical examiner for an autopsy and DNA analysis, District Attorney John Weddle said in a statement, which was posted on Facebook along with images of the map and satellite photos of the area where the remains were found.

Weddle had previously stated that David Cox has been a longtime suspect in his sister-in-law's disappearance.

Weddle added in a previous press conference prior to the search that "There is no indication that anyone other than Cox is responsible for Felicia Cox’s death,” NBC News reported.

Felicia Cox’s daughter, Amber Miskelly, recently told WTVA-TV  that her uncle, David, was the last person to see her mother alive.

Following the discovery of the remains, Weddle said in his statement that “Amber Miskelly and other family members were present on site and were able to view the recovery after the location was secured. Mississippi State personnel excavated the remains and turned possession over to Pontotoc County Coroner Kim Bedford.”

Related Stories