Grand jury indicts Columbia double-murder suspect
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) -
A Boone County grand jury indicted a man on Friday accused of killing his ex-wife and her mother.
Randall Fox, 51, faces two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of tampering with evidence. The court set a new arraignment date for July 1 at 8:30 a.m. for the case.
Columbia police believe Randall Fox shot and killed Sarah Fox and her mother, Marcia Hess, at Hess's home in the 1700 block of Ridgemont Drive. Investigators say they found the two dead inside a basement closet at the home in May after receiving calls that the two had not been seen or heard from in several days. A judge denied him bond on May 30.
The grand jury indicted Fox on the same charges prosecutors initially filed against him on May 24. The indictment transfers the case from the associate circuit court in Boone County to the circuit court, where it can potentially proceed to trial.
Court documents detail police's search for Sarah Fox and Hess in late May. Police wrote that they got a call from a family member of Sarah Fox and Hess's on May 18 claiming they had not heard from the pair in ten days. Police said Randall Fox was at the Ridgemont Drive house that day. During a search of the house, Fox allegedly said a "bad smell" in the house was coming from some sleeping bags. When an officer asked to look inside the closet the bodies were allegedly found in later, Randall Fox said the objects inside "will fall out if he opens it."
Police said Randall Fox told them in an in-custody interview on May 23 that he didn't know that they were found dead in the basement of the home. The detective noted that they had never told Randall Fox where exactly the bodies were found in the home.
