Registered sex offender arrested in Chautauqua County cold case
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A registered sex offender has been arrested in the 2021 case of a Buffalo woman whose body was found off a trail in Chautauqua County, police said Wednesday.
Richard Fox, 61, was arrested and charged with the murder of 50-year-old Marquita Mull.
Mull was last seen on June 25, 2021 in Buffalo's Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. She was reported missing on July 18. Her remains were found off a trail in the Town of Portland on Sept. 27, 2021, one day after a hiker found a different set of human remains less than 20 yards away in a shallow grave. Investigators believe Mull was murdered in Buffalo.
The investigation into the other body is ongoing. Erie County District Attorney Mike Keane said the other body has been identified, but declined to give a name.
"The family of Marquita has been working with our officers and with our investigators right along, and our heart goes out to them," Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone said in a news conference Wednesday. "And they do get a little bit of closure."
Fox, of Buffalo, has been convicted of two sex crimes, according to state records. In 1993, he was convicted of third-degree rape of a 14-year-old girl and was sentenced to 18 months to 3 years in prison. The second conviction was in 2005, when he was convicted of first-degree attempted rape and first-degree aggravated sexual abuse of a 42-year-old Buffalo woman. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for that offense.
Fox is a Level 3 registered sex offender, meaning he is considered "high risk of repeat offense and a threat to public safety." Level 3 is the highest level of risk designated by New York State. He was located in Niagara Falls and brought to Buffalo.
He was arraigned on a second-degree murder charge on Wednesday morning in Buffalo City Court. He was also charged with four counts of failure to report as a sex offender. If convicted of the murder charge, he faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison.
You can view Wednesday's full news conference in the media player above.
Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.