Man gets life in prison for murder, assault of 2 Mesa women

PHOENIX - A man who pleaded guilty to the murder and assault of two women over three decades ago in Mesa has been sentenced to life in prison.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced that 60-year-old Thomas Cox was sentenced for the 1989 murder of 22-year-old Amy Morse and the sexual assault of another woman over a year later.

Morse was found dead in her apartment near Country Club Drive and Southern Avenue on Oct. 16, 1989, after she failed to show up for work.

"Upon entering the apartment, officers discovered the victim lying unresponsive on the bed," MCAO said. "She suffered blunt force trauma to various part of her body and had been strangled to death with an electrical cord."

Just over a year later on Nov. 13, police said a single mother was sexually assaulted at the same apartment complex.

In 2002, a crime lab found that DNA in both incidents matched, but authorities were unable to identify the suspect. Twenty years later, advanced DNA testing identified Cox as the suspect.

Thomas Cox

"His DNA matched samples collected from both crime scenes and his palm matched a print taken from the second victim’s apartment," MCAO said.

Cox was arrested in Colorado. He was never previously identified as a suspect in either case, but police said his mother lived next to Morse.

On Feb. 2 of this year, Cox pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated assault. On March 12, Cox was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 25 years for the murder and 10 years for the assault. The sentences will run concurrently.

"One of the most agonizing aspects of cold cases is the long uncertainty endured by victims and their families," Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said. "This defendant committed these offenses in such a cruel manner and then went on have a full life while the victim’s young life was halted. It’s only appropriate that this defendant spend the rest of his life in prison."