The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1295359
and that Petersburg and Pike County police had been dis- patched to the Fox residence in May of 2019 after Sharon complained Edward had "put his hands on her and would not leave." Sharon filed for divorce from Edward on June 13, 2019, and he had moved to Washing- ton. On July 20, the day after po- lice found Sharon's body, Ed- ward contacted Indiana State Police Det. Tobias Odom. According to the affidavit, he was asking what was go- ing on with his wife. Fox and Det. Odom met. In the meet- ing, according to the affidavit, Fox told Odom, "He knew his wife had passed because his daughter had heard it from Sharon's sister." He pulled out his cellphone to reference it. Odom stated in the affida- vit, "It became apparent at that point that the cellphone contained evidence regarding timeline, notice and where- abouts of Edward Fox." He also stated, "Fox ap- peared to be manipulating the phone and might be deleting items from the phone." Odom and Petersburg Po- lice Cpl. were interviewing Fox at the time and request- ed Fox give them the phone until they could get a search warrant for it. He refused and eventually wrestled with them trying to prevent them from getting the phone. Fox was then arrested on charges of resisting law en- forcement and obstruction of justice. Police then began asking Fox about his whereabouts at the time of Sharon's death, which led to three more in- terviews of Fox and multiple search warrants. In the affida- vit, Odom stated, "Each suc- cessive interview sought to clean up false statements Ed- ward had made in the previ- ous interview, essentially by Edward's admission to the de- ception and then again being deceitful in trying to explain the concealment or omission." In the July 20 interview, Fox told police he had fought with them to keep them from getting his phone because it might show he had been to Sharon's house while she had a protective order against him. When police told him they might be able to track his lo- cation through his phone, he then admitted he had driv- en to her house on the prior Wednesday night in the very late or early morning hours and saw her in bed playing on her tablet through the bedroom window. Accord- ing to the affidavit, he also took about 45 minutes to go through his tools in a shed to see "what she had gotten rid of." The affidavit notes Ed- ward told police in the inter- view that Sharon "disliked the basement stairs to the home because of her difficulty walk- ing and avoided using them." During the second inter- view, when police pressed him about not knowing she was dead, according to affida- vit, Fox admitted, "She was at the bottom of the stairs, I'm sorry," admitting he knew she was deceased several days be- fore he called and asked for police to check on her. "At that point, Edward Fox broke down with loud wailing," stat- ed the affidavit. As police continued to ask for more detail about his being at Sharon's house, the affidavit states, "Fox admitted he was there two consecutive nights, either Wednesday-Thursday or Thursday-Friday and that he discovered her body on the second day." He told police he saw her body from the back door win- dow and described the posi- tion she was in. He also "ad- amantly denied going into the house to check on Sha- ron once he realized that the body was at the bottom of the stairs." Police then talked with Deputy Simmons, who found Sharon's body. Simmons said he was only able to see a part of Sharon's head and face from the back door window and that he could not see her legs or feet, which Fox had de- scribed seeing from that same window. This information led to an- other interview of Fox. When they confronted Fox about this, according to the af- fidavit, Fox admitted he had viewed Sharon's body from in- side the house. "I was in the house, but I couldn't have hurt her." (Next week's edition cov- ers how police used technolo- gy, including data from CPAP machines and Fox's phone to track his activities.) The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, October 7, 2020 A-3 LOCAL Call: 812-354-8500 Email: news@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg MURDER Continued from page 1 NEWS BRIEFS Winslow hydrant flushing The Town of Winslow will be flushing hydrants on Thursday and Friday, October 8 and 9. This of- ten causes a discolor- ation of water, however it is safe to drink. Wash- ing light-colored clothes on these days is discour- aged. Prides Creek golf cart parade is Oct. 12 Prides Creek will have its annual golf cart pa- rade as a light-up parade on Saturday, October 12. Line-up for the parade will start at the beach parking lot at 7:30 p.m., with the parade starting at 8 p.m. Anyone with a golf cart can participate. The other annual events, such as the wiener roast, pumpkin painting and trick or treating have been cancelled due to COVID-19. United Way of Pike County now accepting applications for grant funding United Way of Pike County is now accept- ing applications for grant funding. To apply, an organiza- tion or agency has to have a 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, serve Pike Coun- ty and provide health and human services. For more information or to re- ceive an application, call 812-582-9781 or email unitedwaypike@frontier. com. The deadline for completed applications is October 30, 2020. Shred Week, Oct. 26-31 at Columbia Twp. Library The Oakland City-Co- lumbia Township Pub- lic Library announces a partnership with Pira- nha Shredding to provide a "Shred Week." Secured bins will be in the library for guests to deposit any sensitive paperwork they would like to send to be destroyed. Phone books are not accepted for re- cycling, but other paper, such as colored, white, computer printouts, win- dow envelopes, copy pa- per, manila folders and carbonless papers will be accepted. Locked bins will be available in the library Oct. 26 -31 during regular library hours. For more information, call the li- brary at 812-749 -3559. Time to register for Birthday Club If you haven't submit- ted your birthday with- in the last 6 months, please register again at www.pressdispatch.net/ birthday. Entrants have a chance to win month- ly prizes from local busi- nesses and a three-month subscription to The Press-Dispatch. Upcoming event? We want to know! Do you have an up- coming event? Send it to news@pressdispatch.net. GREG K. WILLIS RE-ELECT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR COUNTY COUNCIL AT-LARGE Paid for by Friends of Greg Willis, Carla Willis, Treasurer. Vote for Knowledge and Experience • Certified Public Accountant ~Practicing in Pike County for 37 years • Previously worked as a Field Examiner with Indiana State Board of Accounts auditing county governments • Involved in the community ~Served on several civic boards throughout my career • Uniquely qualified to serve on Pike County Council • I believe in fiscal responsibility to the taxpayers of Pike County Your Vote and Support is Greatly Appreciated! Paid for by Friends of Greg Willis, Carla Willis, Treasurer. Full moon scene on White River Last week's full moon, shining above and reflecting off the White River at High- way 61 early last Wednesday morning, created a beautiful scene. net edition PressDispatch.net/Subscribe It's the paper. Just digital. Working Together Since 1864 H • F • A • B For your complete insurance needs, contact the Ferdinand Farmers Insurance Group. 812.367.1413 • 888.440.1413 1405 Main Street • Ferdinand, Indiana www.ferdinandfarmersinsurance.com