Earl Cox expected to plead guilty to murder, sexual assault of Angie Housman at Thursday hearing

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    ST. CHARLES, MO (KMOV) — Earl Cox is in court for a hearing Thursday, in which he is expected to plead guilty to the 1993 sexual assault and murder of Angie Housman, according to sources close to the investigation.

As a condition of the the expected plea, he will not receive the death penalty, sources tell News 4.

Cox was accused of kidnapping the 9-year-old Housman after she got off the school bus. After the kidnapping, authorities alleged Cox took Housman to a secluded area in the August A. Busch Wildlife area off Highway 94 in St. Charles County, where he sexually assaulted her and left her tied to a tree to die.

Her body was found by a deer hunter on November 27, 1993, nine days after her abduction. An autopsy performed a day after her body was discovered indicated she died of hypothermia.

According to investigators at the time, the 9-year-old had only been dead for a few hours when she was found.

Cox was not considered a suspect during the initial investigation.

In early 2019, a St. Charles County forensic scientist analyzed pieces of clothing found at the 1993 scene to look for DNA samples. In late February of 2019, detectives were notified DNA came back from two people: Cox and Housman. Cox was initially identified through an online DNA database and was retested with his consent, the probable cause statement said. For the portion consistent with Cox’s DNA, only one in 58.1 trillion unrelated individuals, selected at random, could be expected to have that same profile.

Cox was initially charged with murder, kidnapping and sodomy in the case. In October of 2019, a grand jury came down with an indictment that omitted the kidnapping charge that was initially filed by prosecutors.

In November, Cox’s lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Cox also waived his formal arraignment.

St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar previously told News 4 his office was looking into the possibility that Cox did not act alone.

News 4’s Chris Nagus is present at the hearing and we will update this story with more information as it becomes available.

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