A convicted sex offender has been charged with the murders of two women after a hiker discovered a human skull on a trail in New York.
Richard J. Fox, a 62-year-old man from Buffalo, was charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of Marquita Mull, 50, and Cassandra Watson.
The case began on September 26, 2021, when a hiker walking along the Chautauqua Rails to Trails in Portland, New York, came across a human skull. The next day, police found another set of human remains just ten yards away.
After forensic analysis, authorities confirmed in December 2024 that the skull belonged to Cassandra Watson. Investigators determined that her remains had been at the site for over a decade.
The Erie County District Attorney’s Office revealed that Watson was in a relationship with Fox at the time of her disappearance. She was around 40 years old when she was killed, but she was never officially reported missing.
Prosecutors allege that Fox murdered Watson in Buffalo sometime in 2003 or 2004. The other remains found at the site were identified as Marquita Mull, who had no known connection to Fox.
Investigators believe that in June 2021, Fox picked up Mull while driving and later killed her. A few months later, her remains were found near Watson’s.
District Attorney Mike Keane stated, “The families of Cassandra Watson and Marquita Mull have waited a long time for answers, and we are committed to getting justice for them. Our investigation is ongoing, and we encourage anyone with information to come forward.”
Authorities say both women died from strangulation. Fox is accused of killing them in Buffalo before dumping their bodies in the remote Portland area, which he was familiar with from his childhood.
Fox was arrested for Mull’s murder in January 2024, and on Thursday, he was formally charged in Watson’s case. He also faces an additional charge for failing to report as a sex offender.
He is currently being held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court on April 30, with his trial set for October.
