The Press-Dispatch
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A-4 Wednesday, August 11, 2021 The Press-Dispatch NEWS BRIEFS VFW vendor fair and car show Aug. 14 The Petersburg Veter- ans of Foreign Wars Post 3587 is hosting a vendor fair and car/bike show on Saturday, August 14, from noon until 4 p.m. Food will be sold by the VFW Auxiliary during the fair. Vendor tables are $25, and $ 30 if electric ser- vice is needed. The car/ bike show entry is $20 per unit, with trophies for first and second place winners selected by peo- ple's choice. For more in- formation, call 812-354- 9653 after 1 p.m. Rain date is August 28. Blue Jean Center to host Sunday dinner August 15 The Blue Jeans Com- munity Center in Mon- roe City will host Sunday dinner, August 15, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The menu will include: Hot chicken salad, crazy meatballs, cheesy pota- toes, carrots and brocco- li salad. Carry-outs avail- able. All proceeds benefit the center. Precious Blood Catholic Church Parish picnic this Sunday The Precious Blood Catholic Church Parish will be having their an- nual picnic this Sunday, Aug. 15 at 1385 W. 6th Street, Jasper. The activ- ities will begin at 10 a.m. EDT. Handicap and bus parking available. Call 812-482-4461 for more information. Red Cross Blood Drive set for Aug. 20 The American Red Cross blood donation bus will be at Amber Manor Care Center, 801 E. Illi- nois St, Petersburg, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fri- day, Aug. 20. Schedule your appoint- ment online at www.red- crossblood.com or by calling 1-800 -733-2767. Upper Patoka River Conservancy District meeting is Sept. 9 The Upper Patoka Riv- er Conservancy District will meet at 7 p.m. on September 9, 2021, for a hearing on their proposed budget for 2022. They will meet at 7 p.m. on Septem- ber 23 for the purpose of adopting a budget for 2022. Both meetings will be in the Dubois Court- house Annex in Jasper and are open to the public. 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 paper. Upcoming event? We want to know! Do you have an up- coming event? Send it to news@pressdispatch.net. Testimony in Fox trial from pathologist and coroner By Andy Heuring, Alden Heuring and with contributions from Kyle Williams. On Friday, July 30, Sharon Fox's divorce attorney Bob Zoss testified about how the divorce settlement negotia- tions were going between Ed and Sharon. Zoss, an Evansville attor- ney with nearly 47 years ex- perience, mostly in family law, said Sharon had hired him in June 2019 to represent her. McDonald asked if Zoss had more contact with Sha- ron then most of his clients. "She was more needy, I would say skittish." "Did she ever express fear of her husband? " asked Mc- Donald. "Almost every time we talk- ed to her," Zoss added. "We talked to her every 10 days to two weeks." Zoss also gave a short sem- inar on how Indiana divorce law works on settling up who gets what. "Indiana is a one pot state." He explained that every- thing both people in the mar- riage owned goes into one pot, then they try to work out who gets what. "We try to find out what is there and then figure out if there is something that just isn't fair." He said a lot of cases are easy because there is a house, a 401K, vehicles and credit card debt. "This case was much more difficult. Sharon didn't have a very good picture of what she had," said Zoss. "Ed and Sharon's was more complicated because there were a lot of transactions that Sharon did not know about." Zoss said Ed had withdrawn $122,000 from Sharon's re- tirement account and Sharon didn't find out about it until she saw it on a tax return. Zoss said Sharon claimed Fox had gambled away a lot of money as well. "His (Ed's) ex- planation was he had paid it on bills. There was no underlying documentation for what bills." McDonald asked about me- diation. Zoss said there was a home equity loan that had not been paid down. "There were with- drawals that were made on it by Ed and she didn't know where that money was." According to Zoss, a di- vorce hearing was scheduled in September of 2020. During the mediation, Zoss said Fox wanted $100,000 ; however, that was down to about $ 80,000. There was an annuity Zoss said was worth $47,000. He said Sharon ini- tially offered to give Ed $ 35,000 to $45,000, but over- time, she lowered that offer to $ 30,000 and a yard tractor. Zoss said Sharon had about $58,000 in CDs and about $47,000 in savings accounts. McDonald asked Zoss what Ed put on the forms he filled out where it asked if there were any insurance policies that might generate cash. Zoss said Ed put NA or not applicable. Zoss said Sharon thought Ed was hiding insurance in- formation. McDonald showed Zoss an insurance policy on Sharon of which Ed was the beneficiary. "I can unequivocally say I have never seen that before," said Zoss. Another big item in dis- pute was a farm Sharon had inherited. Its estimated value ranged between $ 300,000 and $450,000, depending on who they asked. In cross examination, Fox's attorney Doug Walton asked Zoss, "Am I correct Ed never asked for the farm? " "No I don't think that was correct. I think there was a time when he threatened to go after the farm. Sharon re- ported that," said Zoss. "Sharon reported that? Tim (Demotte, Ed's attorney) never reported that to you? " asked Walton. Zoss said, "It is all in the pot, so when you are asking for $100,0000, so is that CDs or farm? That he did ask for $100,000, that came from Sha- ron's side. It would have re- quired selling the farm. But no he didn't say 'I want the farm.'" On Friday afternoon, Pa- thologist James Michael Jaco- bi took the stand as a defense witness. He was questioned by defense attorney Walton. Jacobi said he had done an estimated 10,000 autopsies in 40 or so years as a pathologist. He performed the autopsy on Sharon Fox on Monday, Ju- ly 20, 2020, which was one day after her body was discovered. "Like any other medical ex- am, it starts with a history. I depend on the coroner and any other officers," said Jaco- bi. Walton asked him what in- formation was given him by Indiana State Police Detec- tive Tobias Odom and Detec- tive Mark Green. "I under- stand she was estranged from her husband and a protective order had been issued," said Jacobi. Jacobi said he found blunt force injuries on Sharon's body. "The most import- ant fracture was of the low- er neck," said Jacobi. Wal- ton asked about the cause of death. Jacobi said a fracture at ver- tebrae C6 and C7 was the pri- mary cause. Walton asked if this type of fracture would cause a sever- ing of the spinal cord. Jacobi said the spinal cord was not severed, but it was injured and often that caus- es temporary and or perma- nent loss of function that af- fects breathing and control of the legs. He said a few minutes to an hour or so would cause death. "If she can't breath, just a few minutes. I know she had some heart issues. If she is un- able to move, maybe cramped in a position and unable to breath." Walton asked, "Are you trained to look for signs of foul play or violence? " "Yes," replied Jacobi. "How many stair falls have you examined? " asked Wal- ton. "I can think of two this year," said Jacobi. Walton asked, "Were they foul play? " Jacobi stated, "No." "What kind of thing do you look for to see if she was forced down the stairs? " asked Walton. "Perhaps certain injury to the back or flank between her pelvis or also look for genital injuries. There were no other injuries," stated Jacobi. Jacobi said the time of death is estimated to be July 16. "It is an approximation. It could have happened the 16th or 17th. I'm fairly certain one of those days." Walton asked Jacobi if he had ruled the case to be a ho- micide. "I'm a consultant for the cor- ner. I issue opinion for the cor- oner," said Jacobi. Walton, "The death certif- icate asks for cause of death, but also if it is natural, ho- micide, accident or suicide? Based on your experience and training, what was your opinion? "Cause contributing to death is broken neck. I felt her heart condition was also a factor. My recommendation of type was accidental," said Jacobi. "When you do the autop- sy you worked on all the info given to you. You performed most accurately as possible," said Walton. "I believe I did," said Jacobi. "Do you have any reason to vary your finding? " asked Walton. "Since Aug. 24, I have not gotten anything to change my findings," said Jacobi. Prosecutor McDonald, on cross-examination, asked Jacobi about how much time he had spent gathering infor- mation about the scene from police. Jacobi said the autopsy took 2.5 hours and during that time, he was conversing with police. McDonald asked Jacobi, "Why didn't you get the infor- mation when it was available? Let's look at the information you had." "This reflects the brief sum- mary I was given," said Jacobi. "I thought you said you were there 2.5 hours. Are you spending time cutting on people or asking officers what they know about it? " asked McDonald. Jacobi said Sharon was found wearing a pink night- gown only. Walton, "According to your report, the body was found at 4:15," said McDonald. "I began the autopsy at 4:15," said Jacobi. His report also stated the body was found by Sharon's son. "If I present to you it was found by Ed Fox, would you have any reason to dispute that? " asked McDonald. "I may have gotten it wrong or may have been told wrong. I was told it was found in the evening. The body was found on the 19th," said Jacobi. McDonald read from the first paragraph of Jacobi's re- port. "Det. Green said subject was found at the bottom of the steps by her son." "Is this true to the best of your knowledge that this was initiated by her son. How much time did you spend in- vestigating who may have wanted this welfare check? " asked McDonald. "If this is a case of unnatu- ral acts, then any family mem- ber would be first on the list," said Jacobi. "So people with protective orders kill family members? " asked McDonald. "Yes, I have seen that," said Jacobi. McDonald asked Jaco- bi if he remembered saying during a deposition that the last phone call on a cellphone is often a very accurate time of death indicator. "That is your experience? " "Cellphones have not been around since I started 40 years ago," said Jacobi. "Did anyone tell you Mr. Fox's cellphone happened to be there (in Sharon's house) between 1 a.m. and 3:05 a.m. Would that have been rele- vant? " asked McDonald. "If the man with a protective order had been at the scene would that be relevant in the scene investigation? " reiterat- ed McDonald. "I'm not sure I have ever been asked that question be- fore? " said Jacobi. "A big red ball over the house (referring to chart of where Ed's cellphone had been the night of her death). Are you telling the jury you wouldn't know how to consid- er that? " "Are you talking about time of death? " asked Jacobi. "You told them it was an ac- cident. How do you know that? My question to you is, is it rel- evant to you in making that opinion that his cellphone was at the scene for two hours the morning of the 17th? " asked McDonald. "I was not informed of that. If I was, I don't believe so. Based on the evidence, who was at the scene, I don't know. I don't' have any evidence oth- er than this was a fall," said Jacobi. "You said she would have had to have injuries on her to determine it wasn't an ac- cident. Your opinion is on the line here, you are telling me it was accidental," said Mc- Donald. "I have fallen down steps with no help," said Jacobi. "You are telling me that isn't relevant? " asked McDonald. "It is relevant, but I don't have any reason to change my recommendation," replied Jacobi. McDonald then started ask- ing if shoving someone would have to leave a bruise. "If I shove my secretary like that, will I leave bruise? " asked McDonald Jacobi answered, "You may or may not." "Can you tell me how much force it would take to leave a bruise? Can you tell me how much force it would take to knock Sharon Fox down those steps? " asked McDonald. "I didn't do anything more than my autopsy," said Jacobi. "What background did you do to find she avoided the very area where she was found? Did anyone tell you that? " asked McDonald. "I don't believe so," said Jacobi. "Did Coroner Gretchen Harris try to tell you about the expanding volume of evi- dence in this case? " asked Mc- Donald. He asked Jacobi why the coroner would continue to give him information about he crime scene after he had done the autopsy and he had made his recommendation. "She is the investigative of- ficer," said Jacobi. "She gives you information so you can get a better opin- ion? " "That is correct," said Jaco- bi. "And you didn't listen to it. You didn't consider it," said McDonald. "Yes I did. . . I didn't have anything to change it," said Jacobi of his recommendation that it was an accidental death. "So because there were no beating marks on her, ab- sent of strangulation, means he didn't' shove her down the steps? " asked McDonald. "I don't know if it was an ac- cident of or not," said Jacobi. "Did the coroner tell you Mr. Fox got into an insurance policy and changed his pass- word on it on July 15. That isn't going to change the autopsy. No, because you didn't see any beating marks. You told me the absence of something didn't mean it didn't happen." "Have you ever had a homi- cide where someone tried to collect on an accident policy? " asked McDonald. "I don't know, could be," said Jacobi. "It is a tricky way to try to collect. They need the autop- sy to say accidental," said Mc- Donald. "Based on what I found, that is what I called it," re- plied Jacobi. "Based on absence of beat- ing marks" said McDonald. "Yes," said Jacobi. Defense attorney Walton, talking to Jacobi, said, "You got a lot of subsequent infor- mation. Does it change your opinion? " "No," Jacobi said. "Is it because you are hard headed? " asked Walton. "No. My duty is to make a decision. I only saw one part of the picture. No more than I can say who fired a gun in a gunshot wound. I can only determine it was a gunshot wound," said Jacobi. In a third interview with De- tective Odom, which includ- ed Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Baumgart, Fox admits he saw Sharon dead in the house. Before the tape of the third interview was played for the court, Prosecutor McDonald asked Detective Odom about suspicious internet searches they found on Fox's Google ac- count. Odom said they found two YouTube videos that were demonstrations of how to pick a lock. McDonald pointed out those searches were done on July 15 and Sharon Fox's last cellphone call was made to the person who farms her ground on July 16. Her body was found on July 19. They had earlier testified Fox had ordered two lockpick sets. Odom, speaking to Fox, said, "I told you time of death is not exact, but I told you I'm going to keep going until we can figure this out. I don't think you have told me every- thing." "You need to tell us the whole story and every- thing that happened," said Baumgart. "I told you the best I can," said Fox. "I interviewed your son. Whose idea was it to call the police? " asked Odom. "I brought it up. I said she calls him two or three times a day," said Fox. "I think you made the state- ment that he calls her," said Odom of what Fox told police earlier. "I don't know," said Fox. Odom then told Fox he talk- ed with Fox's son and his son found the last time he called her was on the 24th, which would have been June 24, be- cause she was found dead on July 19. Odom then challenged Fox about why he would go to his son's house and ask him when the last time his son called Sharon, when he already knew she was dead. "Again, it doesn't look like you are trying to tell me the truth. You made it that he brought it up. That isn't accurate. You brought it up," said Odom. He added, "It is important to know who brought that up. Be- cause we know a lot of things. You already know she is dead when you bring it up to your son." "Yes," answered Fox. "Why would you do that? Why did you bring it up when you know the answer? " asked Odom. "I wanted to know when he talked to her last," said Fox. Fox agreed with Odom it made it look like he knew something. "I didn't know when she passed." "I know I seen her Friday night, I don't know about mid- night," said Fox. "Then you go to your sons house and asked him, (about when he called her last," said Odom. Baumgart interjected, "I try to prove everyone innocent. You are making this extreme- ly difficult. If something hap- pened in between there, we know need to know about it" "I tried to tell you that yes- terday," said Fox. "We know you saw her at the bottom of the steps either early Friday morning or early Saturday. They then asked Fox where he parked his son's car. "About half-mile down the road. It used to be her cous- in's house. It is someone else's now," said Fox. Fox said he walked to the house and the dog came out to play with him, but didn't bark. "I was at the end of the field, played with her a little bit, I seen a lot of lights on. I didn't want to get too close at first. I knew the basement lights are on and she doesn't go to the basement. I thought may- be the grandkids are there. I wanted to see if the grandkids was there. I got a little closer around the back. I saw her." He began crying loudly. "We don't want your brain to look at it," said Odom. "Which door did you go up to? " asked Baumgart. "I got on the patio. I thought maybe the grandkids were in there. I happened to look down the stairs and there she was," said Fox. He said a light was on in the kitchen and he wanted to look in the kitchen to see who was there. "I didn't want to be seen looking in the door. So I look up at the kitchen first. It was just a few seconds to see if any- one was in the kitchen." Fox told them he looked down the stairs into the back and saw her body and a cane on the landing. "I thought 'I shouldn't be here.' I got the heck out of there." "Did you try to see if the door was unlocked? " asked Baumgart. "I did try the door. It was locked and I couldn't do any- thing. I wanted to see if there was anything I could do," said Fox. "When you look down the steps, you see Sharon? " asked Baumgart. "I remember I see her leg down there. I think her head was facing the hot tub. It was like a pool of blood around it," said Fox. They asked if he could see her face. He said he thought she was facing up. He told them he thought she had on a pink nightgown. As th interview advanced Odom told Fox they were go- ing to do a DNA swab on him so they could tell if his DNA was on Sharon's body. "Can you see it (her body) from that vantage point? We know where her body was and you know where it was. Can you see it from that van- tage point? " asked Odom. "Yes," said Ed. They then asked him if he could see the foundation wall. He said he could. " This is why I know you are in the house. You cannot see the corner of the basement from a closed door. So would you please stop this. We want to believe you. Do you think it is going to make any differ- ence if you are in the house? We care about whether you pushed her down the steps or you found her," said Odom. "I can't get in the house," said Fox. "Yes you can," said Baumgart. "How? " said Fox. "Do you remember ordering Amazon? " asked Baumgart. "I don't use Amazon. I or- dered something from Wish, but I never got it," said Fox. "This is why it is so diffi- cult to get anywhere," said Baumgart. McDonald stopped the re- cording and asked Odom if Fox had ordered something from Wish and not received it. Odom said Fox ordered the lockpick from Wish. But it didn't arrive, so he ordered an- other and sent an angry email w w w . C o l l e c t o r s C a r n i v a l S h o w s . c o m • 812-471-9419 GIBSON CO. FAIRGROUNDS • 709 N. EMBREE ST. PRINCETON, IN COLLECTORS CARNIVAL ANTIQUE & FLEA MARKETS Sat 9am-4pm $2 • Sat Early Bird 7-9am $5 • Fri Setup Shopper 1-4pm $15 SINCE 1992 29th Year! Saturday, August 14th 300 Booths in 8 Buildings + Outside MARRIAGE LICENSES Hunter Cree Young, 28, of 338 E. Mill St., Oakland City, son of Mi- chelle A. Willis and Ron- ald E. Truelove, to Sarah N. Yager, 28, of 1084 S. SR 61, Winslow, daugh- ter of Dana D. and Dan- iel M. Yager. Continued on page 5