Navy man, walking with fiancee, identified as slaying victim

Brighteyes – Your sweeping comments on military officers are very serious. Please take all the research and “proven facts” and alert the media to this clandestine underside of our military. I'm sure this would make the local news. Perhaps they could site your 30 years of “experience” as cause for an official investigation. Don’t forget about the Norfolk Police as well since you personally know that this case is getting more police attention than others simply because of Todd’s rank.

You’ve taken to attacking a murder man’s military rank and stereotyping your ill conceived feelings about officers during an inappropriate time. Go somewhere else to instigate, use spell check and stop being such a negative human being.

Todd was a great American that dedicated his personal and professional life to the Navy and his family and was taken from us too early.

RHIP and it shows everywhere and you know it. The higher a person the more is done for you... that's what rank has to do with it. Even if you were a former father-in-law what does THAT have to do with it... to me, obviously the person who murdered him knew him, so the burning question is... what did he do to piss someone off and who was that person, and people are not always what they seem. It is very different at work than it is in the household. You can be a loving individual at the homefront and a royal jerk at work and that is a proven fact. It happens all the time. Officers are the worst offenders BECAUSE they abuse their privledges everywhere. There is a ONE IN A MILLION officer who has never forgotten where he came from or how he climbed and this Lt Cox may or may not have been one of those persons because they are a very rare breed... Like I said before 'RANK HAS ITS PRIVLEGES' and just as there is a million GODs of all kinds, they use and abuse those privledges. You know and I know it. Ive worked for the military and was a military spouse for over 30 years combined so do not tell me what a nice guy he was. Many people will tell you how officers are. I work wit

Do not let this go cold. Somewhere there is a killer in our community that knows he has gotten away with murder. There is nothing to stop him from doing it again. Sooner or later he will implicate himself and hopefully someone passes the information to the police to bring closure to Todd’s family and make the community safer.

To Brighteyes24, your comments reflect your ignorance. And to attempt to belittle a murdered man's accomplishments because you think officers are different than enlisted is disgraceful.

What does rank have to do with anything. Lt. Cox was not born with a commission. He ENLISTED at the age of 17 and worked extremely hard to step up through the ranks. He was a third class petty officer when I first met him. He came from a background that few of us can imagine and even fewer overcome. He used the opportunities in the military to obtain the education that would have otherwise been unavailable to him. As an enlisted man he was runner up for Sailor of the Year and was soon selected as a Chief Petty Officer at nearly the same time as he was selected as a Limited Duty Officer. He delayed accpeting the commission in order to serve in the honored ranks of Chief Petty Officers. Even as an LDO he continued his education, eventually earning his degree. He didn't use his rank to rule but rather as position to educate, train and mentor those that worked for him.

As his former father-in-law, Todd left this life with my admiration, gratitude for defending us all and a great deal of love in our hearts for someone we had the chance to share our lives with.

I wonder if it was an enlisted man who was assasinated would the police do as much for him? I cannot help but think that someone who stops out of the blue walks up to someone shoots him point blank and no one else was just that, a planned assasination...sounds like a deliberate hit to me. Knowing officers (most officers, I should say) the way they are they think their sh*t doesnt stink...got news boys and girls...you get dressed the same way as the rest of the 'normal' working suckers everywhere...so my question is WHO DID HE P*SS OFF BAD ENOUGH TO SHOOT HIM??? Food for thought, maybe....

This has quickly disappeared from front page news & that cannot happen. We have to make sure the story stays alive until some explanation comes out. Otherwise, we risk complacency when it comes to these horrific crimes that affect our shipmates, friends, & neighbors.

As I read all of these blogs I see people comparing Norfolk to Richmond. As I drive around Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Chesapeake I notice one thing common about our different police departments. The police are more worried about talking on their personal cell phones than patrolling and paying attention to their assigned area they are paid to protect. Our first step in taking back control of our neighbor hoods is to get some real police out there who want to serve and protect. LT Cox served and protected our country, I think at a minimum for LT Cox our police department needs to serve and protect our neighbor hoods. Second is to get help form our Judges and court system. Punish these idiots with what they deserve.

So the perp didn't go after the fiancee and the children? It sounds to me like this was a targeted killing, in the way it was executed as reported. Makes me wonder...

My condolences and thoughts to the family, fiancee, and children. What a tragedy.

I can't belive how violent Hampton Roads has become! I am so glad that I moved to Virginia Beach a couple years ago. Now I can't wait to move out of Hampton Roads. Norfolk had better get the crime problem under control. Everybody I know say they will not go to norfolk at night and now daytime anymore. Sounds like that would be bad for business.

Also, I think this might be a gang induction murder. I know that the gang MS 13 is operating in this area. I hope the police are considering this avenue as well. And if you think this is horrible you should read about the murders of Channon Christian Christopher Newsom in Knoxville, TN. It's one of the biggest stories we all missed.

Has anyone considered the unthinkable possibility of a serial killer, as in the DC/NoVA sniper case? I hate to bring it up, but unless this man had a terrible enemy, which seems unlikely given everything I've read so far, it's not outside the realm of possibility.

Has anyone heard whether a memorial has been set up for this family that has to be devastated beyond belief.

God's peace to Todd & his family

Another unsolved murder in Norfolk. As soon as the police identify a suspect, Mr Riddick will play his race card and everything will be dropped again.

My heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Lt. Cox.

This crime appears random and senseless from the article. Not only did the killer get out of the truck and walk up to Lt. Cox, but then continued shooting after he was down. No robbery and no injury to those with him.

As one comment suggested, perhaps it was someone who knew him. My first thought was that it sounded related to local gang activity.

Regardless, I hope the Pilot continues to follow the investigation and provide further details as they are released.

As a Catholic, I am supposed to be anti-death penalty, but in this case I am glad I live in Virgina. The death penalty was made for human debris/scum bags of the like that executed this innocent family man and patriot. And yes, Norfolk is continuing to resemble Richmond. I am a proud Virginia conceal and carry permit holder for this very reason. I try to stay out of Norfolk if at all possible, even though I am armed at all times. It has just become another dangerous American inner-city, and its a shame! Thank you for your service to our country LT., and to all that currently serve our nation. And some of the comments saying he may have made someone mad!?
Come on, you do not kill a fellow human being out of anger. This is what is wrong with our country.....

How come with at least one eye witness we have no description of the shooter?
I think this will turn out to be a person the LT knew or, more unlikely, maybe they angered someone while crossing Granby St.

Sentara Norfolk General Hospital is the Level 1 trauma facility closest the the crime scene. It would only waste more time taking someone in grave condition to a facility that has no means to treat a trauma victim. De Paul is not supposed to have the means to treat a trauma victim because it is not classified as a trauma hospital! It sounds as though this man had no chance of survival after being shot multiple times. It's really not reasonable to try to place the blame for his death on whether or not DePaul hospital meets your standards.

I would like the Virginian Pilot to keep following up on this story. This was not a robbery. The assailant pulls up in a truck and shoots the victim and keeps firing as he is falling. No, there is something definitely personal about this crime. I have faith that police are already pursing leads on this.

As deeply saddened as we all are for the loss that Lt. Cox fiancé and daughter suffered such a tragic loss, everyone should also remember that Lt. Cox had two wonderful children and a devastated ex-wife with whom he remained incredibly close. The fact is that they all worked very hard to form an amazing extended family that provided support and comfort to each other for the past several years.

This cowardly shooting of an unarmed man enjoying the company of his family on a beautiful spring evening has left an enormous circle of family, friends and shipmates devastated. The term "senseless shooting" does not begin to describe what has occurred.

People chased down and beaten to death in Ocean view, thugs jacking cars, smashing car windows, ATM holdups, gang graffiti everywhere, we resemble Richmond more than the Norfolk I knew a few years back. I don't know what the answer is to the crime crisis but there are many people who get the big bucks to forward possible solutions and they need to get to work. For my part I'm staying away from Downtown. I'm also arming myself and my family, a legal gun in my pocket is the only solution I have!

In reference to the post about not taking him to DePaul, sure they could have, but DePaul would have diverted the rescue unit to Norfolk General. Any trauma patient is automatically taken to Norfolk General as they are the regions Level 1 trauma center, and are equipped for this type of emergency. DePaul would not be able to provide the level of care he needed. And in a emergency response, it would only take the ambulance 5-7 more minutes to get to Norfolk General.

If I read this article right, this poor man was shot only a block away from DePaul medical center, and only lived a half hour after the shooting. Would it have been possible to have taken this man over to DePaul emergency room? There is such a thing as the Golden Hour, might the man been saved with quicker care so close at hand, than to have transported him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital? Does this mean that DePaul Hospital has become so pathetic in health care as the defunct Norfolk Community Hospital, that the Citizens of the northern end of Norfolk can no longer rely of quality care from DePaul Hospital? The state board was right not to grant their recent proposal. How sad that there is only one hospital the citizens of Norfolk can rely on for emergency care. This is a sad situation and the poor man might have been saved if only DePaul Hospital standards for quality care weren't so pathetic.

First let me send my condolences to LT Cox's family, his fiancé and lastly the VAW-125 family. As a former Steeljaw, I know how small the "Hummer" community is, and a lost of one of our number is a lost felt by all. To be lost while serving our country is one thing, but to be taken away in so senseless an attack is beyond understanding. “Iggy”

This is a total shock, my sympathy to the VAW-125 Tigertail community, Todd's family and his Fiancee.

Even more police presence could not prevent a stupid killer from driving down a one-block dead-end street where he has to turn around to escape! That neighborhood is about the quietest in Norfolk, and each of those dead-end streets has its own watchful eyes. Hardly anyone can go in or out of any of those streets without being noticed.

This tragedy proves that Wards Corner needs a police precinct. How many more times does this need to happen? This crime occurred in daylight, if the 911 report time is correct.