Overview
- Niagara County prosecutors charged Richard J. Fox, 62, with second-degree murder on Dec. 22 in the death of 32-year-old Crystal Curthoys.
- Fox pleaded guilty earlier this year to murdering Cassandra Watson in 2003 and Marquita Mull in 2021, and he was sentenced on Nov. 20 to 40 years in state prison.
- Police say near-skeletal remains wrapped in plastic and a tarp were recovered in March under basement stairs in a Niagara Falls residence where Fox once lived, then identified by dental records as Curthoys.
- Investigators previously linked Fox to Watson after a specialized genealogical DNA analysis identified long-unidentified remains in late 2024, with both Watson and Mull found near the Chautauqua Rails to Trails.
- Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone has described Fox as a serial killer and says more victims are possible, and Fox is being held without bail with a court date set for Jan. 5, 2026.