A 48-year-old man from the US state of Arkansas and his wife of 30 years were arrested after claiming to be ‘Jesus Christ’ and ‘the devil’ – he even used a saw to cut off his leg in front of him . Daughter, 5 years old. Shannon Cox and his wife, Sandy Michelle Cox, were detained last week and charged with endangering the well-being of a child.
On August 2, police officers in Boone County responded to an emergency call about a man with a amputated leg. Upon arrival at the scene, the first officer to contact Shannon said they found the man ‘lying naked in front of the residence and part of his right leg was missing’. When the officer asked Shannon how she got hurt, she reportedly replied ‘sawed’.
Soon after officers arrived, Shannon was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Police contacted Sandy Cox and asked her to go to the sheriff’s office that morning. During interrogation, Sandy reportedly said that Shannon had been acting strange all day before cutting off her leg.
“Sandy said he said he was Jesus Christ and that he needed to be right with the Lord. He said he got violent with her and said he was the devil. He told his wife that he would turn her head and Will continue to make verbal threats,” as the full case statement read.
The affidavit also contains information about Sandy’s neglect of her daughter: “Sandy said that at 8:15 p.m. she left the house because she feared Shannon would kill her. She went to a friend and was never home.” came to her why she did it ‘don’t take your daughter, she said she was worried because Shannon wanted to kill her and wasn’t worried about her daughter’.
According to the affidavit, the next day, investigators interviewed the couple’s 5-year-old daughter at a child advocacy center, where she reportedly confirmed that she was “present when her father amputated his leg”. During the interview, investigators said the girl was “still in a state of shock” from the incident and noted that she was “trying to walk away from the conversation”.
Shannon and Sandy Cox were released after posting bail of US$10,000 (about R$50 million reis – at the current rate). He is to appear in court next month.
