Buffalo man indicted for murder of two women after skull found on chautauque rail trail

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Buffalo man has been indicted on charges of second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of two women, one of whom was identified more than a decade after her remains were discovered in Chautauqua County.

Richard J. Fox, 62, was arraigned Thursday before Erie County Court Judge Suzanne Maxwell Barnes on two counts of Murder in the Second Degree, Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced.

Prosecutors allege that between 2003 and 2004, Fox intentionally killed Cassandra Watson at a location in Buffalo. Her remains were discovered on September 26, 2021, when a hiker found a human skull along the Chautauqua Rails to Trails near Woleben Road in the Town of Portland.

Forensic analysis determined the remains had been at the site for over a decade. Investigators later identified Watson in December 2024.

She was reportedly in a relationship with Fox at the time of her disappearance but was never reported missing.

Fox is also accused of murdering Marquita Mull in late June 2021 at another location in Buffalo. The 50-year-old victim was reported missing by her family, and her body was discovered on September 27, 2021, during the investigation into Watson’s remains.

Fox remains in custody without bail and is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on April 30, 2025. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 50 years to life in prison.

“The families of Cassandra Watson and Marquita Mull have waited a long time for answers, and we are committed to obtaining justice for the victims,” Keane said, urging anyone with information to come forward.

A long-running investigation led to the indictment of Richard J. Fox, accused of killing two women whose remains were found years apart in western New York.

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