NORFOLK
Her stunned 10-year-old daughter watched as the stranger stood in front of her father and pulled the trigger.
Her 12-year-old son in a nearby house heard the shots and the screaming.
Those are the main reasons Laurie Cox fought back a nervous stomach and faced reporters Friday. She pleaded for the public's help in finding who gunned down her ex-husband, Navy Lt. Todd Michael Cox, in April in an execution-style slaying on a quiet, tree-shaded street that still baffles police.
"I need closure for my children," Cox said. "And without knowing anything, or anyone coming forward, there is no closure. There's only constant fear.
"I mean, my 10-year-old daughter is always looking over her shoulder and wondering if this person is going to come out and get her. She was there. She saw it. So, I don't want my children to live in fear. I want them to have an answer."
Cox, 37, has moved from Norfolk to Virginia Beach because of her daughter's unease. She talked outside Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center on Granby Street - less than a block from where Cox, 40, was killed on April 24.
He had been walking on Beverly Avenue, a dead-end thoroughfare of single homes and towering trees, with his daughter Emily, his fiancee and her daughter, and his fiancee's dog.
The other three largely have blocked out what happened, Cox said. But they and witnesses told police this much: A man alone in a mid-1990s-model Ford F-150 standard-cab pickup painted white on top and bottom and turquoise in the middle passed the quartet, turned around at the dead-end, returned and stopped next to them. The man exited.
Todd Cox shoved his fiancee out of the way, Laurie Cox said. The assailant shot him repeatedly at close range as the girls - who were up ahead with the dog - sprinted frantically for safety behind a tree. Then the gunman drove off unhurriedly.
Police described the killer as a black man with a medium complexion, 6 feet to 6 feet 2 inches tall with a medium build and a short, natural hairstyle. He wore a light shirt and blue jeans.
"What's unusual about this is the circumstances," said Officer Chris Amos, a police spokesman. "Hopefully, this will lead to something definitive."
Cox enlisted in the Navy at age 17. At the time of his death, he was a maintenance officer at Airborne Early Warning Squadron 125 at Norfolk Naval Station.
"He was a great dad. He was a great friend," Laurie Cox said. "And he loved the kids."
They rode bicycles, went to the zoo and the pool, and took trips to Maine, she said. After hearing the shots, their scared son Bradley phoned and text-messaged Laurie Cox, who sped to the scene.
In addition to moving since then, she now works part- time to be with her children, and has started the difficult adjustment to single parenthood. She and Todd, even after breaking up a few years ago after 13 years of marriage, talked almost daily and made all decisions about the children together, she said.
"I can't replace a dad," she said.
She realizes she could've lost her daughter, too. She worries about emotional repercussions as Emily grows up, saying the fifth-grader doesn't talk much or remember much about that night.
"I had to get out of Norfolk," Laurie Cox said. "Because she would have a panic attack. I couldn't even get her out of the house."
She admitted that in moments of exasperation she still talks to her ex:
"I ask him, 'How could you do this? Who did this to you?' And there's just no answer for it."
Matthew Bowers, (757) 222-3893, matthew.bowers@pilotonline.com
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Alex!
I am certainly not celebrating the beating death of a black sailor by an Ocean View mob. In fact, as a fellow sailor, I shed quite a few tears when it happened.
The point was made that this was a *racial* incident because someone mistakenly thought the victim was white. Of course, there are other racial incidents, some of which you have outlined. This just didn't happen to be one of them. Cheers, MGM
marym
The fact that one of the sailors beaten to death in a mob assualt in Ocean View was black, should not be a cause for celebration. That black on black crime is considered commonplace should be a concern as well. However, that doesnt negate the Justice Dept statistics, showing that almost all murders, robberies and rapes involving 2 races, show white victims and black assailants. In fact, white on black crime os so rare, that the media treats it like a 9-11 event. Black on white crime is nationwide, violent, and so routine that the media treats it as a non event. How many white mob assaults have we read about like OV, Jena, St Paul, Long Beach etc? None would be the answer, or Sharpton and "testicle cutter" Jackosn would be right there marchig in your neighborhood. They were silent over the torture/murder of 2 young whites in Knoxville, I guess, being white, they arent marketable as victims.
Some people here must think CSI is more popular than it is.
I know of NO ONE that watches that show, so the people with law enforcement connections that keep trying to blame the expectation of the PD to solve a crime in OVER THREE MONTHS time, can hang that argument up. In two of the local cases (Lt Cox and Meghan Landowski) local law enforcement has bungled the investigation, local media has failed to keep the public informed and both have failed to actively pursue the publics help. There are two very ruthless and dangerous killers running loose right now in Hampton Roads and we continue to see a lack of public outcry and a lack of local media keeping these stories in the forefront. The pressure should be on local law enforcement until they either make an arrest or seek the publics help in solving these cases. Making excuses for their lack of competency is not going to solve the problems. It's save to say that in another three months, these crimes will still
Alex!
Um, I think the sailor beaten to death by the black gang in Ocean View was also black. Can't make a racial statement with that one, sorry! In fact, one of the girls in the gang was used as bait to get him to come back there and meet them. Cheers, MGM
Case not solved
I think once many folks stop watching shows such as CSI they would learn not all cases can be solved before the show is over and they wouldn't make such rude statements. The crime happen on city property and not the base, naval investigators will assist if needed.
Lt. In norfolk/Megan portsmouth
I feel sure this was a case of mistaken identity, or job related. Look at the sailors on the boat and figure out which one he didn't give his way to, Maybe he found dirt on one of his sailors and sent him to captains mass, costing him a cut in pay or restriction to the boat/command!
In defense of Portsmouth police, they are all over Megans murder. The navy is also on this. They have leads, they have to be positive so they don't blow the case. They have a good idea of what is going on! They will get him!
Yeah, and look where it happened . . .
Right across the street from DePaul Hospital, where we have parked many times in outlying lots. Now I think I see an even bigger trend picking up for only people who think they have no other option to head over to DePaul. The non-paying customers will soon be all they have there, because those of us who have a choice will not enter that neighborhood for medical care. Such a pity when I think of what DePaul was ten years ago, and throughout its storied history. Cheers, MGM
So, Norfolk Police are still mystified...
Gee, let me see if I can help clarify this... Another cold blooded murder in Norfolk. A Navy officer gunned down on his own street while walking with his family. Black male, mediumm height, medium complexion ("natural" hair?), shoots him repeatedly in front of his fiancee and little girl. Police are stunned, no leads, no thoughts, no motives. Hmmm, could it be a gang initiation? Race related? How many whites are murdered in black on white crime that is under reported? The answer is...plenty (See the Wichita Massacre, The Knoxville torture/murders, The mob beating death of a sailor in Ocean View,etc). But I have faith in the Norfolk PD, that this wil be swept under the carpet and hushed up like all the others. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along....
i smell a rat
Follow the money.
Unsolveable crimes
Someone needs to call Nancy Grace from CNN and expose these types of cases. Then she'll expose the local idiots investigating, or trying to investigate, what happened here. CNN will expose the Norfolk / Tidewater area for what it is. A toilet bowl.
The public outcry of this murder should be huge!
If this had happened in any other area we would see the national media all over it. The local media seemed to just push it under the carpet as quickly as possible, maybe to keep from embarrassing the local police departments lack of capability to solve crimes. Where is NCIS? Cox was a NAVY officer! They should be all over this non-stop until someone is convicted. The other horrible crime in the same time period is the brutal murder of Meghan Landowski. The little 16 year old girl was viciously murdered in her own home in broad daylight and it seems the local media and the public attitude is "oh well". Between Meghans murder and Lt Coxes murder, there are two very dangerous killers on the loose. Where is the public outcry? Where is the local press? Both of these murders should be on the headlines nearly every day until someone is convicted. Our law enforcement in this area seems to be incapable of solv
Duckwortth Murder
The murder of Fred Duckworth, former Mayor of Norfolk, has never been solved from 37 years ago. Several years ago the Norfolk Police sealed the case under former Chief High according to Virginian Pilot news report.
Keep reminding the public
It seems like if a violent crime such as this isn't solved right away, the public forgets all about it. Someone out there knows who killed this man. If reminders like this appeared more often, it would be harder for those with knowledge of such crimes to push info to the back of their minds. Maybe more frequent reports on unsolved crimes could help jog someone's memory of a seemingly unimportant detail surrounding places or people linked to the event.
This murder brings to mind another killing in Norfolk of a girl who lived alone. She worked at Botanical Gardens and attended my church. Her name was Angela Lechlitner and I don't think her murder was solved - or if it was it wasn't covered.