Convicted Murderer a Suspect in Niagara Falls Skeletal Remains Case

A Buffalo man who recently admitted to killing two women continues to be investigated in connection with another homicide involving skeletal remains found in Niagara Falls.

Richard J. Fox, 62, pleaded guilty last week in Erie County Court to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Cassandra Watson and Marquita Mull. He is scheduled for sentencing in November and faces 40 years to life in prison. Investigators believe Watson was killed between 2003 and 2004 in Buffalo while Mull’s death occurred in June 2021.

The case has drawn renewed attention because Fox remains a person of interest in the discovery of skeletal remains found at a property in Niagara Falls where he once lived and worked as a handyman. Authorities have not charged him in connection with that case, but the investigation is ongoing.

The remains of a human skull were discovered in September 2021 by a hiker on the Chautauqua Rails to Trails path near Woleben Road in Portland. Forensic experts determined the remains had likely been buried for more than a decade. The next day, investigators uncovered Mull’s body in a shallow grave at the same site where Watson’s remains had previously been located.

Both Watson and Mull were reported to have been involved in relationships with Fox, who is also a registered sex offender. His arrest took place in January of this year in Niagara Falls when officers with the Falls Police Narcotics & Intelligence Division and the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force apprehended him after receiving requests for assistance from other agencies. At the time, police sources said Fox was being looked at in connection with other unsolved crimes, including additional potential homicides.

The investigation intensified in March when police executed a search warrant at an apartment building on Orleans Avenue in Niagara Falls. During the search, officers found the badly decomposed body of a woman under a stairwell, sealed inside drywall. Authorities later confirmed Fox had previously lived in the building and had performed handyman work for its former owner.

Additional search warrants were carried out in April at several locations in the city including residences on Pierce, Pine, and LaSalle avenues. Police also seized a white Chevy Express utility van from the rear of a home on Pierce Avenue, which was reportedly linked to Fox.

Crime Scene Unit detectives later recovered DNA evidence from the unidentified victim discovered under the stairwell, though investigators are still working to establish her identity. In May, police conducted a forensic excavation at the Orleans Avenue property but found no further evidence.

While Fox’s conviction for the murders of Watson and Mull has brought some closure to their cases, the Niagara Falls investigation remains unresolved.

Detectives continue to piece together evidence to determine whether Fox is connected to the remains found in the stairwell.

Convicted Murderer a Suspect in Niagara Falls Skeletal Remains Case