Judge denies bond during appeal process

Ruling that he is too much of a risk to flee the state and never look back, a judge Thursday refused to allow prominent McHenry County businessman Billy J. Cox out on bond while he appeals his conviction for trying to kill his wife.

Cox, 65, formerly of Buffalo Grove, has been held in the McHenry County jail without bond since April when a jury found him guilty of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated domestic battery charges stemming from a September 2004 attack on his wife at the couple's Bull Valley estate.

The charges accused Cox of beating Carolyn Cox unconscious with a baseball bat-like object and then locking her in a garage with two running vehicles in hopes she would die from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Cox, a noted scientist and the founder of Richmond-based Exacto Inc., faces between six and 60 years in prison when sentenced next month and is certain to appeal the jury's guilty findings.

He and his lawyer appeared in court Thursday asking for a bond that would allow him out of custody while his sentence and appeal are pending.

"In the 2½ years this case was pending, Mr. Cox not once missed a court date," defense attorney Mark Gummerson said. "I don't believe he is a threat to anyone."

Cox, Gummerson said, would be willing to put up a substantial amount of assets -- including a $985,000 ranch in Arkansas -- as collateral to ensure he remains in Illinois while awaiting a decision on his appeal.

But for a man who, according to trial testimony, is worth about $15 million, that promise was not enough to convince McHenry County Judge Joseph Condon he would not leave the country if released.

"Mr. Cox, because of his mandatory incarceration of at least six years, is provided significant incentive to flee the jurisdiction and he has the financial ability to leave and never be seen again," Condon said.

The decision came Thursday during an afternoon of hearings on post-trial motions filed by Cox's defense, including one seeking a new trial based on allegations of juror misconduct and discovery violations by county prosecutors. The hearings recessed late Thursday afternoon and are scheduled to resume Nov. 6.