Corbin man gets 12 years for killing daughter’s boyfriend

Bill Cox

"I’ll go to prison over this but it’s worth it," William Cox allegedly told 9-1-1 dispatchers after shooting his daughter’s boyfriend in 2012 near their Corbin home.

On Monday afternoon, Cox officially found out how much time in prison he would have to serve for his crime.

Circuit Judge Paul Winchester followed the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Cox to a total of 12 years in prison.

Cox received a 10-year prison sentence for first-degree manslaughter under extreme emotional disturbance and a pair of one-year prison sentences on the first-degree wanton endangerment convictions. Winchester ordered that the three sentences be served consecutively or one after the other.

During the nearly three-minute long sentencing hearing Monday, Cox’s attorney, David Hoskins, asked Winchester to run the sentences concurrently or at the same time for a total sentence of 10 years in prison.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Allen Trimble objected asking Winchester to follow the jury’s recommendation, which he did.

"In this case there was a jury trial. The jury returned a verdict and the court will respect the jury’s decision in this case," Winchester noted during the hearing.

Under Kentucky law, judges can decrease a jury’s recommended sentence but cannot increase it.

It will be several years before Cox is eligible for parole.

Cox will have to serve 85 percent of his 10-year prison sentence on the manslaughter sentence. Cox would then have to serve about 15 percent of his two-year sentence for wanton endangerment before he is eligible for parole.

Winchester also ordered Cox to pay $130 court costs and $6,650 restitution to the victim’s father, Denver Abner, for funeral expenses and monument costs.

Hoskins said that he doubts his client will appeal the verdict.

"There was an issue that we could appeal on if we wanted to appeal but if we got a new trial, he could get more time during the second trial," Hoskins said. "Since we got the minimum on what he was convicted, my guess is that he will probably decide not to appeal."

Hoskins said the appealable issue was the admission of evidence that Cox had marijuana metabolites in his bloodstream at the time of the shooting.

The metabolites indicated that Cox had smoked marijuana at some point possibly days or weeks before the shooting, but his toxicology results indicated he wasn’t under the influence of marijuana at the time of the shooting.

"I’m pretty sure that was an error but maybe not reversible error," Hoskins noted.

Hoskins said that given the circumstances, he thinks Cox was happy with the sentence.

On Feb. 20, a Whitley County Circuit Court jury convicted Cox, 56, of first-degree manslaughter under extreme emotional disturbance in the Aug. 20, 2012 death of 21-year-old Ryan Abner.

The jury also convicted Cox of two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for shooting at the car, which Abner was driving. Abner’s passengers were Cox’s daughter, Brittany Cox, and their infant son, Matthew.

During Cox’s trial, neither side disputed that Cox shot Abner, but defense attorneys claimed that Cox shot Abner in self-defense.

After he shot Abner, Cox told 9-1-1 dispatchers that Abner had hit his daughter with whom Abner had a child.

"He’d been hitting her, beating her up," Cox is heard telling dispatchers in the 9-1-1 call. "I just got tired of it."

Corbin police found Abner dead inside his Chevy Equinox SUV.

According to witness statements, Corbin Police Sgt. Rusty Hedrick said Cox had been standing in a neighbor’s driveway when Abner and Cox’s daughter along with their child came by in the SUV.

A verbal argument ensued between Cox and Abner and as Abner drove off, Cox fired one round from a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun into the right rear of the SUV.

Abner got out of the vehicle and began cursing Cox. When Cox began moving toward the vehicle, Abner jumped back in and began to leave.

"Cox ran up to the vehicle and fired multiple rounds through the driver side window, striking Abner in the head," Hedrick said. Cox then went to a neighbor’s house and called 9-1-1 to report the shooting. 

"No, he’s dead," Cox is heard telling dispatchers when asked about Abner’s condition. "I shot him good and made sure he’s dead."

Brittany Cox denies that Abner abused her.