Judy Fox murder case: Prints of daughter 'were discovered on aerosols'
The palm print and fingerprints of a woman accused of murdering her mother and of starting a house fire were discovered on an aerosol can and sticky tape, jurors have been told.
Lucy Fox, 39, of Bernard’s Hill, Bridgnorth, allegedly stabbed to death her mother Judith Fox, 65, at her home, in Haughton Drive, Shifnal, between June 12 and 14 last year.
She is also accused of starting a fire at her brother’s home at about 1.30am on June 14.
Giving evidence at Stafford Crown Court yesterday, West Mercia Police fingerprint expert Emma Williams said she examined photographs of marks found on cannisters taped together and recovered from the scene of the fire at the home of Nicholas Fox, in Apley Park, near Bridgnorth.
“I found that the mark was from the left ring finger and also the left little finger of Lucy Fox,” she said.
Ms Williams also told the hearing one of the prints were found underneath the sticky side of the tape the defendant allegedly used.
She added that Fox’s left palm print was identified on the other surface of the black tape used to hold the makeshift device together.
The jury previously heard that Judith Fox’s disappearance was discovered following the fire which was reported to the emergency services. The jury also heard that evidence of airborne blood stains and splatters subsequently discovered in the kitchen at the Haughton Drive property and on items matched the DNA profile of Mrs Fox, whose body was identified from her dental records.
It is the prosecution’s case that the defendant entered her mother’s house carrying at least one knife and killed her in the kitchen.
The remains of Mrs Fox, known as Judy, who was a company nurse at the Shropshire Star and Express & Star for 13 years, were discovered in woodland next to the River Severn, off The Lloyds at Coalport, near Ironbridge, following a police search on July 10.
Lucy Fox is accused of killing her mother because she was upset that the family home was being sold. She is also accused of setting fire to a doormat at her brother’s home.
The defendant is being tried in her absence after the court found she was “not fit to participate in the trial in any meaningful way” and is charged with offences of murder and arson with intent to endanger life.
The jurors have been told that it was not a standard trial and they were only required to determine whether or not she committed the acts and were not required to bring in verdicts of guilty.
However, if they were not satisfied that she did the acts they should find her not guilty.
The trial continues.
