Richard Fox pleads guilty to murder of 2 Buffalo women

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Richard Fox pleaded guilty on Friday to the murders of Marquita Mull and Cassandra Watson, whose bodies were discovered together in September 2021 on a trail in Chautauqua County, Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane announced.

Mull, 50, and Watson, 40, went missing from Buffalo 18 years apart. Watson, who had been in a relationship with the 62-year-old Fox, was last seen between 2003 and 2004, and Watson was last seen in July 2021.

Their remains were found in the Town of Portland and were subsequently examined and tested for DNA. Both of the murders are believed to be a result of strangling, according to WIVB News 4’s previous reporting. Watson’s remains were found on Sept. 26, 2021, less than 20 yards away from Mull’s in a shallow grave. Mull’s remains were found the next day.

Fox, of Buffalo, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and was not offered a reduced plea. He has also been previously convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl as well as sexually abusing and attempting to rape a 42-year-old woman. He is a Level 3 registered sex offender.

At the end of last year, Fox was identified as a person of interested in Mull’s murder and was arrested in January. He was initially charged with Watson’s murder in February.

“We are confident that he is going to spend the rest of his life in state prison,” Keane said.

Some of the victims’ family and friends were in the courtroom on Friday. Wendy Mull, Marquita Mull’s sister, said it was hard to relive what happened.

“We all still gonna live with a broken heart,” Wendy said. “He didn’t have the right to go and take someone’s loved one from their families, even if he thought nobody cared about them or missed them, there’s people who do miss these people who are gone now.”

While Wendy is thankful Fox pleaded guilty, the pain of losing her sister is something she’ll never get over.

“Why did you do this?” she said. “You done made a broken family! I stand by myself with this, with Marquita! I’m still trying to keep going, but I do thank him, because he did turn my broken heart because I do a lot of artwork because of what he did to me.”

Fox’s defense team said Fox feels remorse for his actions.

“He accepted responsibility for his actions and that was the most important thing, we think, for the family,” said Paul Michalek, one of Fox’s attorneys.

In May, police found human remains in a home on Orleans Avenue in Niagara Falls. Fox once lived on a home on Orleans Avenue and was determined a person of interest by police. At the end of May, police spent hours digging in Fox’s backyard, but did not find anything.

“There are ongoing investigations,” Keane said. “If anybody thinks they have any information that may be related to Richard Fox, we are constantly looking at information and evaluating it.”

Keane encouraged anyone with information regarding Fox to contact the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, Buffalo Police Department or Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department.

Fox faces 40 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 20.

Watch Friday’s full press conference in the video player above.