Repeat killer gets life in prison for slaying girlfriend in Tempe

A 60-year-old man has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in jail for the 2020 murder of his girlfriend in Tempe.

Gary Lenall Cox was sentenced after being released in the 2002 slaying of his wife, according to a release from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

“These crimes are the essence of evil, and they were committed by a person who is a grave threat to the community,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said.

“He will spend a very long time in prison, which is precisely where he belongs.”

The case involving the death of Cox’s girlfriend began in the early afternoon of Aug. 7, 2020, when Tempe police responded to a welfare check at a motel. A caller told authorities Cox had said his girlfriend was dead.

Police found her on the floor of a motel room, the MCAO release stated.

The victim had extensive bleeding in all regions of her brain, approximately 20 rib fractures and overlapping bruises around her chest and neck, according to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office.

“During the investigation, police found evidence including empty bleach bottles and blood stains on the sink, tub and towels, indicating Cox had attempted to clean the crime scene. There was also evidence that Cox had cleaned the victim’s wounds,” the release stated.

Cox was convicted in February of first-degree murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence.

He was sentence to:

• Natural life in prison for first-degree murder.
• 28 years for kidnapping.
• 5 years for tampering with physical evidence.
• 3.5 years for possession or use of a narcotic drug from a separate criminal case.

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