Judith E. Cox

Judith Eileen Cox (September 20, 1923 – February 14, 1964) was a 40-year-old Falls Church woman who shot her four children, 14-year-old Danny, 11-year-old Laurie Beth, 2-year-old Joe, and 4-month-old Timothy, before fatally shooting herself in the basement of the family home at 421 Carolyn Drive in the Sleepy Hollow neighborhood on February 14, 1964.[1]

Joe was the only child to survive the initial attack, but he died shortly thereafter in the Fairfax Hospital. Unusually, the .38 caliber revolver Mrs. Cox used was found in one of her hands, despite the fact that suicides generally drop the gun they use, and a series of rambling notes expressing her fear that she would be returned to the mental hospital from which she had recently been released was in the other, although none of the notes specifically mentioned suicide. The scene was discovered shortly afterward by Jefferson Elementary School principal Thomas J. Cox, her husband.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dewar, Helen. "Mother Kills Three Children, Herself in Falls Church Home." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): A1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1994). Feb 15 1964. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.