By Andrew Coen
Denice Fox, who lived in Hewlett Harbor for a decade before moving to Glen Cove in May, was the victim of what Nassau County homicide detectives are calling a "psycho-sexual" murder, allegedly carried out by one of her neighbors in her gated community.
In the mid 1990s, Fox, a retired special education teacher in the New York City public schools, moved with her family from Baldwin Harbor, where she had lived for most of her life, to a home at the corner of East Rockaway Road and Auerbach Avenue in Hewlett Harbor. Known as "Denny" to many of her family members and friends, Fox was remembered fondly by her former Hewlett Harbor neighbors, who were shocked by news of the murder.
"She was just one of the sweetest women," said Hewlett Harbor resident Elisse Weiss, who knew Fox professionally while working as a reading teacher. "When I heard about it, I was devastated."
Detectives said that Fox, 57, was confronted by a neighbor, Evan B. Marshall, 31, after he allegedly broke into her Willada Lane home in Glen Cove on Aug. 17. He is accused of stabbing her with a knife of his own and then using one of her kitchen knives to carve up her body. Police do not believe Fox knew Marshall prior to the incident.
Police responded to Fox's home late Thursday afternoon when her 22-year-old daughter Rebecca came home and phoned in a missing person report when she did not see her mother and noticed signs of foul play, according to detectives. After obtaining a search warrant for Marshall's home, where he lived with his mother, Jacqueline, two doors away, investigators discovered her body in the basement, detectives said. Police also discovered mannequins and sadomasochistic paraphernalia in the basement, authorities said.
Detectives described the killing of Fox and the dismemberment of her body as a random act of violence and a "psycho-sexual murder." But police would not give specific information about how the killing occurred, saying that the details are being investigated.
Marshall was arrested the next day while he drove around Glen Cove with the victim's head in a gym bag in the trunk of his vehicle, officials said.
"This is definitely unusual," said Detective Sgt. Dennis Barry of the Nassau Homicide Squad in a phone interview.
Fox and her husband, Jay, moved from Hewlett Harbor to Glen Cove in May with their daughter, according to police. The couple's 29-year-old son, Andrew, lives in California, according to friends.
Fox's family and friends, while grieving her loss, are trying to make sure she is remembered as a great human being rather than as a victim of a brutal murder. "She would never want her life defined by this brutal, horrific, senseless crime but rather by her legacy of love and compassion," said Fox's niece, Ronnie Grill of Dix Hills. "She dedicated her life to trying to help others and giving back to society. She was a joy to be around, and she lit up any room she walked into. She was deeply in touch with the love and needs of her family and friends."
"She was just a lovely lady," said Weiss. "My heart and prayers go out to the family."
Marshall pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead and is being held without bail, officials said. Police officials said that he struck a Glen Cove woman walking near her home at 8:30 a.m. last Thursday, but that he has not been charged for the incident and that it is unrelated to the murder.
Reached by phone, Marshall's attorney, William Keahon, declined to comment.
A funeral service for Fox was held at Gutterman's Funeral Home in Rockville Centre on Tuesday afternoon.
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
