Richard Edwin Fox
Encyclopedia
Richard Edwin Fox was executed by the state of Ohio
for the kidnapping
and murder
of an 18-year-old college student whom he lured to her death with the fake promise of a job interview
.
A three-judge panel convicted Fox of aggravated murder and kidnapping and sentenced him to death on June 27, 1990. He spent 12 years and 7 months on death row
as his case was appealed through the state and federal court systems.
On September 14, 1989, Leslie Keckler applied for a waitress job at a Bowling Green
restaurant. Fox worked there as a grill cook. As Keckler filled out her job application, Fox pointed out Keckler to a coworker and said "I'd like to have some of that", the coworker testified later. Fox gleaned Keckler's telephone number from the application and asked her to meet him for an interview for a restaurant supply sales job.
On September 26, Keckler went to a local motel where Fox had scheduled the job interview. Keckler's boyfriend saw her just before she left and Keckler told him she might be gone for two or three hours. When Keckler did not come home that night, her boyfriend and her mother filed a missing persons report with police. Police found the car Keckler had been driving abandoned at a local mall.
Four days later, two boys riding bicycles found Keckler's body in a rural drainage ditch. Keckler was still wearing her new black dress and leather jacket. However, a clasp on her brassiere was broken, her belt was unbuckled, two dress buttons were missing, and her pantyhose was torn in the crotch. Aside from a nearby shoe, police found no other evidence at the scene.
revealed that Keckler had died as a result of asphyxia from ligature strangulation and multiple stab wounds. She had been stabbed six times in the back; three stab wounds penetrated her lungs. Her right wrist had a deep defensive wound gash, and her face had bruises on her left eye, upper lip, and nose consistent with blunt force injury. The coroner found no signs of sexual assault.
After meeting Fox, she agreed to accompany him in his car that evening to discuss the job. They drove for a while and then parked. Fox began making suggestive comments and told the woman he thought her dress was too long. She realized that she had been duped and told Fox she was not interested in any job.
In response, Fox asked what the woman would do if someone "pulled a knife" on her and asked her for money, or asked her "to do other things". At that, the woman jumped out of the car while Fox tried to grab her and said "come back" and that he "wasn't finished with [her] yet".
She made a safe getaway, but did not report the incident to police until after Keckler disappeared. The woman provided police with a sketch of her assailant.
made Fox their prime suspect. On October 2, an acquaintance of Fox told police that the composite sketch resembled Richard Fox of Tontogany. Police confirmed that Fox matched the description of "Bennett" and Fox's car also matched the description of "Bennett's" car.
That same day, police secured a search warrant
for Fox's car and found some "suspicious items". They asked Fox to come to the station to answer a few questions and he voluntarily accompanied them.
Before Fox was placed under arrest, he admitted that in early May he had worked at a restaurant where his first intended victim had applied for a job, that he met her at the motel, and that he took her for a drive and discussed her skirt length.
Unwittingly, Keckler triggered something in Fox's psyche as she tried to get away from him. She called him "an asshole" and started to get out of the car. Fox told detectives, "no one calls me an asshole". Fox grabbed the woman by the coat as she was standing up to get out of the car and pulled her back in, then he pulled the coat up over her head.
Fox told police he got a knife out of the glove compartment and stabbed Keckler in the back, after which he got a rope out of the trunk "just to make sure she was dead" and strangled her. He took police to a rural location outside Bowling Green where he dumped Keckler's purse and other property.
Neither that letter nor his teenage daughter's tearful plea not to be made an orphan (her mother had earlier committed suicide) swayed the parole
board. Fox made no statement before he was injected with the deadly chemicals. The execution took a total of 13 minutes from the time the first chemical was started until Fox was declared dead.
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
for the kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of an 18-year-old college student whom he lured to her death with the fake promise of a job interview
Job interview
A job interview is a process in which a potential employee is evaluated by an employer for prospective employment in their company, organization, or firm. During this process, the employer hopes to determine whether or not the applicant is suitable for the job.-Role:A job interview typically...
.
A three-judge panel convicted Fox of aggravated murder and kidnapping and sentenced him to death on June 27, 1990. He spent 12 years and 7 months on death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
as his case was appealed through the state and federal court systems.
The crime
The crime for which Fox paid with his life was his first criminal conviction, but Fox had been increasingly aggressive toward women in the months leading up to the murder of Leslie Renae Keckler, testimony at his trial revealed. In fact, it was the victim of a previous encounter with Fox who helped police break the case.On September 14, 1989, Leslie Keckler applied for a waitress job at a Bowling Green
Bowling Green, Ohio
Bowling Green is the county seat of Wood County in the U.S. state of Ohio. At the time of the 2010 census, the population of Bowling Green was 30,028. It is part of the Toledo, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bowling Green is the home of Bowling Green State University...
restaurant. Fox worked there as a grill cook. As Keckler filled out her job application, Fox pointed out Keckler to a coworker and said "I'd like to have some of that", the coworker testified later. Fox gleaned Keckler's telephone number from the application and asked her to meet him for an interview for a restaurant supply sales job.
On September 26, Keckler went to a local motel where Fox had scheduled the job interview. Keckler's boyfriend saw her just before she left and Keckler told him she might be gone for two or three hours. When Keckler did not come home that night, her boyfriend and her mother filed a missing persons report with police. Police found the car Keckler had been driving abandoned at a local mall.
Four days later, two boys riding bicycles found Keckler's body in a rural drainage ditch. Keckler was still wearing her new black dress and leather jacket. However, a clasp on her brassiere was broken, her belt was unbuckled, two dress buttons were missing, and her pantyhose was torn in the crotch. Aside from a nearby shoe, police found no other evidence at the scene.
Wounds
The autopsyAutopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
revealed that Keckler had died as a result of asphyxia from ligature strangulation and multiple stab wounds. She had been stabbed six times in the back; three stab wounds penetrated her lungs. Her right wrist had a deep defensive wound gash, and her face had bruises on her left eye, upper lip, and nose consistent with blunt force injury. The coroner found no signs of sexual assault.
Previous attack
When the story of Keckler's murder was publicized, another Bowling Green woman came forward with a nearly identical story. She had applied for work at a restaurant and received an invitation for an interview for a different position from a man calling himself "Jeff Bennett" but who was later positively identified as Fox. He asked her to come to a local motel—the same one where Keckler was headed—to discuss the job opportunity.After meeting Fox, she agreed to accompany him in his car that evening to discuss the job. They drove for a while and then parked. Fox began making suggestive comments and told the woman he thought her dress was too long. She realized that she had been duped and told Fox she was not interested in any job.
In response, Fox asked what the woman would do if someone "pulled a knife" on her and asked her for money, or asked her "to do other things". At that, the woman jumped out of the car while Fox tried to grab her and said "come back" and that he "wasn't finished with [her] yet".
She made a safe getaway, but did not report the incident to police until after Keckler disappeared. The woman provided police with a sketch of her assailant.
Investigation
A check of the employees at the restaurants where the two women applied for jobs revealed an interesting coincidence: Fox was employed at both places. Other circumstantial evidenceCircumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence is evidence in which an inference is required to connect it to a conclusion of fact, like a fingerprint at the scene of a crime...
made Fox their prime suspect. On October 2, an acquaintance of Fox told police that the composite sketch resembled Richard Fox of Tontogany. Police confirmed that Fox matched the description of "Bennett" and Fox's car also matched the description of "Bennett's" car.
That same day, police secured a search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
for Fox's car and found some "suspicious items". They asked Fox to come to the station to answer a few questions and he voluntarily accompanied them.
Before Fox was placed under arrest, he admitted that in early May he had worked at a restaurant where his first intended victim had applied for a job, that he met her at the motel, and that he took her for a drive and discussed her skirt length.
Arrest and admissions
After his arrest and after being advised of his Miranda rights, Fox admitted he knew Keckler and claimed they had met and talked at the restaurant where he worked and met again a couple of days later. He described his encounter with Keckler at the motel on September 26 as a date. Later, at the mall, "he saw Leslie and they talked and ended up taking a drive in his car". Fox said that he and Keckler parked, and "things were getting warmed up". However, "then Leslie did not want to participate".Unwittingly, Keckler triggered something in Fox's psyche as she tried to get away from him. She called him "an asshole" and started to get out of the car. Fox told detectives, "no one calls me an asshole". Fox grabbed the woman by the coat as she was standing up to get out of the car and pulled her back in, then he pulled the coat up over her head.
Fox told police he got a knife out of the glove compartment and stabbed Keckler in the back, after which he got a rope out of the trunk "just to make sure she was dead" and strangled her. He took police to a rural location outside Bowling Green where he dumped Keckler's purse and other property.
Clemency hearing and execution
At Fox's clemency hearing where the parole board listens to arguments why it should or should not recommend that the governor commute a death sentence, it was revealed that Fox had written a letter apologizing to the Keckler family for his actions:- "If I could, I would sit down with my victim's family and try and share how sorry I am, how I have changed and how I wish I could change what happened. I am sorry, and I must pay for my actions, if it be with a life in prison or if it be by my life, I will do what is required as I know I must pay for my mistakes!"
Neither that letter nor his teenage daughter's tearful plea not to be made an orphan (her mother had earlier committed suicide) swayed the parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
board. Fox made no statement before he was injected with the deadly chemicals. The execution took a total of 13 minutes from the time the first chemical was started until Fox was declared dead.
See also
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
- List of individuals executed in Ohio