Remains found in Mississippi based on executed man's hand-drawn map

Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Investigators in Mississippi said they found human remains using a hand-drawn map provided by a man the state executed last month.

The First Circuit District Attorney's Office said David Cox provided the map to his lawyer, which he said showed the whereabouts of his former sister-in-law's remains. Felicia Cox was reported missing in July 2007 and David Cox had been considered a suspect.

David Cox pleaded guilty in 2012 to an eight-count indictment charging him with murdering his estranged wife, Kim Cox, and sexually abusing his minor stepdaughter identified in court documents as L.K.

District Attorney John Weddle said the remains were excavated and transported to the Mississippi Medical Examiner's Office on Sunday. There, an autopsy and DNA testing will be performed to determine a cause of death and the identity of the remains.

Felicia Cox's family members, including daughter Amber Miskelly, were on site to observe the recovery.

The release from the district attorney's office said prosecutors agreed to grant David Cox immunity in Felicia Cox's disappearance if he told them the whereabouts of her body. He left the hand-drawn map for his lawyer, instructing him to hand it over to authorities after his Nov. 17 execution.