A father accused of killing his two infant sons pleaded guilty to two counts of capital murder Monday in Washington County Circuit Court.
Travis Wayne Fox, 24, of Springdale, was charged in the shaking death of his sons. Fox was sentenced to two life terms by Circuit Judge William Storey.
The plea bargain allowed Fox to avoid the death penalty.
Police investigated the September 2011 death of Fox’s 6-month-old son, Travis Wayne Fox II, but didn’t have enough evidence to make an arrest, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case. That changed after the death of Fox’s 7-month-old son, William, on March 13.
According to Springdale police, Fox admitted shaking the first baby in 2011 and tossing him in a chair. The incident happened in West Fork. A medical examiner’s report revealed the 6-month-old had multiple superficial recent and healing injuries.
Fox also confessed to shaking the 7-month-old for 15 to 20 seconds because the baby was fussing, according to the affidavit.
Police said Fox told them he had anger management issues and he had been drinking before both incidents.
Randall Galloway, deputy coroner, was called for William’s death. Galloway recognized Travis Fox’s name from the 2011 case.
Fox was initially arrested on first-degree murder charges, but prosecutors opted to file the more serious capital murder charges. Threet said after talking with investigators with Springdale police and the Washington County Sheriff ’s Office, he determined the circumstances of the deaths met a definition of the state’s capital murder statute, manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life and knowingly causing the death of someone younger than 16.
Fox has prior felony convictions in Benton and Washington counties for theft, misdemeanor battery and alcohol and drug charges.