A Mississippi man admitted to killing his sister-in-law - moments before he was executed for murdering his estranged wife.
In a letter to his attorneys that was to be opened before his death, 50-year-old David Neal Cox confessed to killing his sister-in-law Felicia Cox in 2007. He also provided chilling details on where her remains could be found before being sent to his death, the New York Post reports.
David Neal Cox was executed on November 17, after being found guilty of the 2010 murder of his wife, Kim Kirk Cox.
District Attorney John Weddle announced at a news conference on Monday that David Neal Cox had been a longtime suspect in his sister-in-law's disappearance. While the exact location of Felicia's remains was not disclosed, Weddle said that authorities were preparing to search Pontotoc County where she was last seen.
Felicia vanished in July 2007, after paying a visit to Kim Kirk Cox.
Three years later in May of 2010, David Neal Cox was arrested under suspicion of having shot his wife dead.
He pleaded guilty to her murder. He also pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his then-12-year-old stepdaughter while her mother lay dying, and while other family members begged him over the phone to release the children.
Prior to his execution date being set Cox gave up on all appeals and declared himself "worthy of death."
He was executed at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, where he became the first Mississippi inmate to be executed in nine years.
David Neal Cox's letter confessing to his sister-in-law's murder reached District Attorney Weddle's office two days after he was put to death.
Since then, the Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel has issued a statement on the state of mind of the inmate before he was put to death. The statement said David Neal Cox "felt deep remorse and wanted to bring closure" to his sister-in-law’s family.
Even with David Neal Cox's confession, Weddle stressed that "locating the remains of Felicia Cox is not a forgone conclusion."
"We are hopeful that the information is accurate and that recovery efforts will be successful so that Felicia's family may give her a proper burial," he added.
Further details on how Felicia was killed and the circumstances leading to her death have yet to be revealed by authorities.
