SARAH HALEY FOXWELL - 11 yo (2009) - Salisbury MD

We Want Justice for Sarah Foxwell
February 22, 2010 10:25 PM EST

by Cassie Blackmon http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978062309

It was a shocking Christmas Day in 2009 for 11-year-old Sarah
Foxwell’s family. At 4pm, while children across America played with
their brand new toys, police found Foxwell’s body in a heavily wooded
area half a mile from the Maryland/Delaware border. Foxwell was
reported missing from her Salisbury, Maryland home just two days
earlier, kidnapped from her own bedroom in the middle of the night.
Foxwell’s death was ruled a homicide from multiple injuries. Back at
the home, there were no signs of forced entry. Foxwell’s 6-year-old
sister would turn out to be the key eyewitness in the abduction,
according to cops, spotting the alleged kidnapper as he entered
Foxwell’s bedroom that night.And no detail goes unnoticed. The
little 6-year-old girl was able to tell investigators exactly what the
kidnapper was wearing, down to the color of his shoes. When cops caught
up to 30-year-old Thomas Leggs Jr. he was wearing the clothing very
similar to what Foxwell’s sister described him wearing the night
11-year-old Sarah Foxwell was snatched from her own bed.
Leggs was arrested in connection with Foxwell’s disappearance and
charged with kidnap & burglary. And it’s no surprise to learn Leggs
is a registered sex offender in Maryland and Delaware. In Maryland,
Leggs is listed as a child sex offender, convicted of a sex offense
involving a child in March 1998. In Delaware, Leggs is listed as a
high-risk sex offender, convicted in 2001 of raping a 16 or 17-year-old
victim. And these are just two examples from an extensive rap sheet
that includes other assault cases.38 days after hundreds said
their final goodbyes to 11-year-old Sarah Foxwell, Wicomico County
State’s Attorney Davis Ruark announced at a news conference Leggs
indictment for first-degree murder, burglary, kidnapping and first- and
second-degree sexual offenses. Ruark also says the state will seek the
death penalty. Leggs, still behind bars without bail, denies any
involvement. So what exactly took so long to file murder charges? Ruark
explains with Leggs behind bars with no bond, investigators proceeded
in methodical and logical fashion gathering evidence, particularly
evidence that had to be analyzed at crime labs.What’s even more
appalling than Foxwell’s murder is the fact this little girl’s life
could have been saved. As a registered sex offender, it’s not Leggs’
first run-in with the law. He has two prior convictions in Delaware and
Maryland. As recent as September, a female in Ocean City, Maryland
reported to cops she woke up at 4am in her bedroom to find Leggs – who
allegedly broke into her apartment and was standing next to her bed
with no shirt on & his pants down around his knees. The two met 10
days earlier at a downtown bar and spent time together at the female
victim’s apartment, but she rejected Leggs once he made sexual advances
and tried to take her clothes off. Miraculously, the unidentified woman
was not harmed during the confrontations and when Ocean City police
caught up to Leggs he was arrested and only charged with burglary and
destruction of property. Even with his prior record and testimony from
the female victim, the judge grants him $10,000 bond, which Leggs puts
up then walks free.90 days later 11-year-old Sarah Foxwell is
dead! With two prior sex assault convictions, including rape of a minor
victim, why would a judge let him out on bail, free to walk the
streets? According to charging documents and reports, Leggs is the
ex-boyfriend of Sarah Foxwell’s aunt, her legal guardian. And it was at
the aunt’s home where Leggs allegedly gained access using a hidden
spare key. How can this aunt look herself in the miiror everyday? Why
would a woman be with a man that has done these tings and allow him
anywhere near these girls? I think she should lose guardianship of the
other minor daughter because I feel she has been extremely negligent!!At
a news conference, Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis says it’s
troublesome that Leggs was allowed back on the streets and notes that
Leggs last registered with Wicomico County on December 3, 2009 and was
the target of seven compliance checks in 2009 alone. During each of the
seven checks, Leggs was in compliance with the law and there were no
violations that would have resulted in an arrest. At this time,
prosecutors are confident they have the only suspect in the Sarah
Foxwell murder case in custody.We Want Justice for 11-year-old Sarah Foxwell
as well as all of the other victims!!!
What is wrong with our judicial system when a sick individual is allowed to
repeatedly walk back out on the streets and do these horrific crimes? I
don't know what the answer is, but I know there is something else that
needs to be done to these sex offenders!!!

From Michelle Sigona's Crime Wire site...

Thomas J. Leggs Jr. was convicted Thursday for fourth-degree burglary
stemming from a September 11, 2009 incident where he allegedly broke
into a woman’s home in Ocean City, Maryland. The victim claims she
never gave the convicted sex offender permission to enter her house and
she woke up in the middle of the night to find a naked Leggs standing at
the end of her bed masturbating. He was given a three year maximum
sentence from the judge.

Read more here:
http://www.michellesigona.com/2010/08/sarah-foxwells-alleged-killer-convicted-of-md-crime/

The Death Penalty Trial is scheduled to begin in Cecil County on April 11th 2011. An automatic change of venue was granted.

Judge denies motion to remove death penalty in Leggs case


ELKTON, Md. – A Circuit Court judge denied a motion Thursday morning that would have removed the option of a death sentence for a Salisbury man charged in the murder of Sarah Foxwell.
The denial came during the second day of a motions hearing for Thomas James Leggs Jr., 31, in Cecil County Circuit Court.
The victim’s parents, Jennifer and Thomas Foxwell, were present for the hearing.

The motion, or request, was one of several that have been filed by Leggs’ public defense team.

In court on Thursday, Katy O’Donnell, division chief of the Aggravated Homicide Division of the public defender's office, argued the state had had no DNA evidence that links Leggs to Foxwell’s murder. She said the state only had evidence that could link the defendant to a sexual act.

The judge denied the motion stating that prosecutors allege they have DNA that identifies Leggs as a suspect in crime related to a larger more serious crime – murder.

Leggs is the sole suspect in the murder of 11-year-old Foxwell who was reported missing on Dec. 23, 2009. Law enforcement officers found her burned remains in a wooded area in Delmar on Christmas day.

Leggs was initially charged with burglary and kidnapping shortly after Foxwell’s disappearance. He was later indicted on a number of charges including murder and sex offense.

http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110210/NEWS01/110210023/1002/Judge-denies-motion-to-remove-death-penalty-in-Leggs-case

A plea deal has been reached in the case against a man accused of kidnapping and murdering an 11-year-old Salisbury girl.
Thomas J. Leggs Jr., 31, of Salisbury, appearing in Cecil County Circuit Court on Tuesday morning, admitted his guilt in Sarah Haley Foxwell's death.
"I am guilty," Leggs told the court multiple times, as he took responsibility for his crimes.
Under the terms of the plea deal, Leggs
received two life sentences without parole: one for first-degree murder
and the other for first-degree sexual offense. He was also given
30 years in prison for kidnapping and 20 years for burglary. All
sentences are to be served consecutively.
In a statement to Sarah's family, Leggs said
there was no excuse for his "monstrous act." He also said he was
thankful Sarah's family spared his life, and that he will spend the rest
of his life doing "whatever is necessary" to make sure a crime such as
the one he committed is never again perpetrated against another child.
Leggs also apologized that because of his actions, Sarah would never see
adulthood.
At a press conference held outside the
courthouse after the judicial proceedings, Wicomico County State's
Attorney Matthew Maciarello - whose office prosecuted the case - said
the decision to no longer seek the death penalty against Leggs was
largely made out of respect for Sarah's family.
"The Foxwell family has told me that they do
not want a lifetime of anguish and appeals, due to the extreme stress,
havoc and grief the death of Sarah has caused them and their need to
begin healing from this horrible, despicable crime," Maciarello said.
"And because they wished to protect Sarah's
sister, a 7-year-old material witness in the case, they have unanimously
requested that we withdraw our notice to seek the death penalty in
consideration for the plea agreement placed on the record today."
Maciarello also noted that the history of the
death penalty in Maryland indicates that it would be highly unlikely
that Leggs would be ever executed.
Davis Ruark, who served as a special
prosecutor in the case, said that due to the magnitude of the crimes
committed against Sarah, it was his personal opinion that Leggs deserved
to be put to death. Despite having to withdraw the death penalty
against Leggs in order to work out a plea agreement, Ruark said he still
believed justice was served in this case.
"Yes, to the extent that the family's wishes
were honored, justice was served in this case," Ruark said. When asked
if he believed a compromise had been made with a convicted child killer,
Ruark replied, "It's not a compromise. He will never come out of prison
alive."
Also at the press conference, Sarah's mother
Jennifer Foxwell said that now that her daughter's killer is going to
prison for the rest of his life, her family can have closure.
"Thank you all so much for giving up your
Christmas of '09 to bring our baby home," she said. "We now have closure
and we can all move on- including the community."
The press conference took an unexpected turn
when Sarah's grandmother, Robert Wechsler, took the podium. She thanked
the thousands of people who supported her family and then launched a
verbal attack on local blogger Joe Albero.
"From the moment of Sarah's kidnapping, in my
opinion, he has exploited her murder and her memory and tortured and
pillaged my family."
Following Weschsler's statements, Albero was
asked if, as Weschler alleged, he profited off of Sarah's death. Albero
denied those allegations. He said that while he is considering writing a
book about the tragedy, he has not victimized Sarah's family in any
way.
"Absolutely not. Sarah did not die on my watch. Let's just put it that way. She did not pass on my watch," Albero said.
According to court records, on Dec. 23, 2009
Leggs kidnapped and killed Sarah. After a massive three-day search that
involved hundreds of police officers and civilians, Sarah's burned body
was found in a wooded area of Wicomico County on Christmas Day of 2009.
Authorities have said that Leggs- a convicted
sex offender in Maryland and Delaware- had dated Sarah's aunt for a
short time several months before the girl's kidnapping and death.
As part of the plea deal, which spared him a
possible death sentence, Leggs agreed to give investigators additional
details about the kidnapping and murder of Sarah.
http://www.wboc.com/story/14341664/plea-deal-reached-in-leggs-murder-case

At about 10 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2009, the family of Sarah Haley Foxwell
contacted the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office. Deputies were
dispatched to her Old Ocean City Road home to investigate the child's
disappearance.After Foxwell's aunt and guardian, Amy Fothergill,
realized the 11-year-old girl was missing, her younger sister whom she
shared a room with reported "Tommy" had been in the bedroom during the
night. Foxwell, who was crying, left with him wearing nothing more than
pajamas, her sister told investigators.Leggs was not a stranger.
He had previously dated Fothergill, according to court records. The last
time he had been at Foxwell's home was a month before she was abducted.Leggs may have known about a spare key to the home that was hidden outside the house, according to prosecutors.Later
that morning, after Foxwell was reported missing and Leggs was
identified as a suspect, deputies quickly located his Bennett Road
address in the sex offender registry. They drove to his home and asked
to search the property, but he refused. He later gave in and led them
around his home, knowing the child's desecrated remains were in a wooded
area in Delmar about six miles away.Leggs willingly rode to the
Sheriff's Office with investigators to discuss his whereabouts the night
before. He told them he was at a Salisbury bar until 1 a.m. and then
drove straight home.The threads of Leggs loosely woven "alibi"
would start to unravel when investigators checked his cell phone
records. Data from Verizon Wireless placed him near Foxwell's home
during the early morning hours of Dec. 23. The state police child
recovery unit and other investigators used this information to create
maps in hopes of narrowing the search area.That evening while
still at the Sheriff's Office, Foxwell's sister picked Leggs out of a
lineup and identified him as the man who had been in her bedroom less
than 24 hours ago. She said he was the same man who took her sister.Two
days after Foxwell was reported missing, thousands of volunteers
descended on Arthur W. Perdue Stadium at about 7 a.m. Christmas Day to
help authorities search for the missing child. By this time, detectives
were able to narrow the search area by using data from Leggs' cell phone
provider. Law enforcement officers were sent to the northern part of
the county, close to the Delaware line.Eight and a half hours
after the search began that day, a Maryland state trooper found the
young girl's body in an unpaved area known as Lily Lane.The
Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Foxwell's death was a homicide.
Multiple injuries, including asphyxia by drowning, smoke inhalation,
burns and hypothermia contributed to her death.But cell phone
records reveal Leggs didn't immediately go home. He took a detour and
drove a little more than five miles to Foxwell's home. DNA evidence in
his Dodge pickup truck would later confirm investigators' suspicions.
Hairs from her head and fibers from her pajamas were found on the front
passenger seat of the vehicle.The trial


News of Foxwell's death sent ripples through the community. Parents
turned to the Internet, searching for familiar faces and names in the
sex offender registries. Crime mapping websites were used to locate
child predators and pedophiles living in their neighborhoods.After
a judge granted a change in venue for the trial as requested by the
defendant, the case was moved to Cecil County and Leggs was transferred
to the Queen Anne's County Detention Center in Centreville.As
part of an unusual non-negotiable plea agreement that spared his life,
but cages him from the outside world, Leggs traveled back to the
Sheriff's Office in Salisbury to answer questions from investigators and
family members. On March 24, he provided the sordid details surrounding
the young girl's murder; motive, plot and execution.Police and family members would finally have their questions answered about why he chose Foxwell for his prey."He had a preference for girls in Sarah's age range," Wicomico County State's Attorney Matt Maciarello said. "He's a pedophile."Almost
a month before the criminal jury trial was scheduled to begin, Leggs'
public defense team, Kay Beehler, Katy O'Donnell and Stephen Mercer,
contacted prosecutors to reach an agreement that would eliminate the
option of a death sentence.The state had a strong case, but
prosecutors wanted to meet with the family and law enforcement officers
before making a decision and moving forward."We were then
obligated to meet with the family and explain that resolving the case by
plea agreement was an option," Maciarello said.If Leggs was
convicted by a judge or jury and received a death sentence, the family
could have been subjected to the numerous hearings and appeals typically
attached to death penalty cases."Their (the family's) focus was on the 7-year-old witness who was a material witness in the case," Maciarello said.Four
members of Foxwell's family, her mother, father, aunt and maternal
grandfather, signed a document stating they unanimously supported the
plea agreement. The victim's parents publicly supported the agreement
during a news conference immediately following Leggs' conviction on
Tuesday."We're satisfied," Jennifer Foxwell said.The
agreement required Leggs to plea guilty to all counts in the abduction,
sexual assault and murder of Foxwell in exchange for a life sentence
without parole for murder and sex offense. He will have to serve a
consecutive 30 years on kidnapping and another 20 on burglary charges.Consequently,
his appeal rights are severely limited, according to the state and
defense counsel. There are only three areas he can challenge the
conviction: the jurisdiction, or location, of the court; legality of the
sentence; or competency of his defense team.Looking for
retribution in the young girl's murder, an outraged public and the
Wicomico County sheriff called for the death penalty immediately after
Foxwell's body was found. The state made it official when it filed
notice of its intent to seek the death penalty.For the first time
since the scores of hearings were initiated after his arrest, Leggs
publicly addressed Foxwell's family during what could be his last
appearance inside a courtroom.Life vs. death


State executions are recorded as far back as 1773, according to the
Maryland Department of Public Safety and Corrections. The state's death
penalty and execution statutes have gone through a number changes
starting as far back as 1809.Currently, two men who have had
court trials on the Eastern Shore have been on death row since 1983. And
between the current moratorium on executions in Maryland and the
appellate process, Leggs could have sat on death row for decades, if he
had gone to trial and received a death sentence, according to the
State's Attorney's Office.While Maciarello said he believed the
death penalty was "appropriate punishment" in the Leggs case, there
other factors that outweighed state's desire to seek the capital
punishment."Everybody involved believed the death penalty
applied, but you have to weigh the costs of how it affects the Foxwell
family in making that decision," Maciarello said. "When all is said and
done, they're the ones left with the wounds after each and every
subsequent appeal and hearing after death is imposed."Immediately
following Leggs' conviction, Sheriff Mike Lewis said he would have
liked to have seen the death penalty issued but he was happy the case
had been resolved."Some families are willing to go through that
to obtain a death sentence and see their child's murder put to death,"
Maciarello said. "Some are not. Talk is cheap when you don't have to
live through decades of appeals and anguish."
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110403/NEWS01/104030322/0/NEWS/2-years-later-conclusion-Foxwell-case?odyssey=nav|head