Shannon Cox and Sandy Michelle Cox
A 48-year-old Arkansas man and his 30-year-old wife were arrested after the man allegedly claimed he was both “Jesus Christ” and “Satan” before using a chop saw to amputate his own leg in front of their young daughter last month.
Shannon Cox and his wife, Sandy Michelle Cox, were both taken into custody last week and charged with one count each of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, a Class D felony, court documents reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a probable cause affidavit submitted in Boone County Circuit Court, deputies with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office on the morning of Aug. 2 responded to an emergency call regarding a male subject with an amputated leg. Upon arriving at the scene, the first deputy to make contact with Shannon said he found the man “lying in front of the residence naked and missing a portion of his right leg,” the affidavit states.
When the deputy asked Shannon how he sustained the injury, Shannon allegedly replied, “with a chop saw.” The other portion of Shannon’s leg was “in place still lying on the saw,” and there was substantial blood spatter on the floor and walls of the home as well as on the “large Ridged brand chop saw,” according to the affidavit.
Soon after authorities arrived, Shannon was airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.
An investigator with BCSO’s Criminal Investigation Division then responded to the scene where additional dangerous materials were allegedly discovered.
“Located outside the residence I noticed a white four door car with the hood up. Further examination of the car, I noticed there was a 20-pound propane cylinder laying on top of the battery and an Arkansas driver’s license belonging to Shannon Cox,” an investigator wrote. “I also noted there were ashes inside the vehicle and the rear passenger window was broken out.”
Investigators then contacted Sandy Cox and “advised” her to come to the sheriff’s office that morning. During an interview with deputies, Sandy allegedly said that Shannon had been “acting odd” all day prior to amputating his own leg.
“Sandy said he was telling her that he was Jesus Christ and that she needed to get right with the lord. Sandy said he then became violent towards her and said he was Satan. He told Sandy that he was going to twist her head off and continued to make verbal threats,” the affidavit states. “Sandy said at approximately 8:15 p.m. she left the residence because she was scared Shannon would kill her. Sandy said she went to a friends and never came back to the residence. When I asked Sandy why she didn’t take her daughter with her, she said she was worried about Shannon killing her and wasn’t worried about her daughter.”
The following day, investigators interviewed the couple’s 5-year-old daughter at a child advocacy center where she allegedly confirmed that she was “present when her dad cut his own leg off,” per the affidavit. During the interview, investigators said that the girl “did seem to still be in some state of shock” from the incident, and noted that she kept “trying to steer away from the conversation.”
Shannon and Sandy Cox were both released after posting bond of $10,000. They are currently scheduled to appear in court next month.
Read the charging documents below.
[images via Boone County Sheriff’s Office]