Judge denies new trial request for Cox

Rejecting claims prosecutors hid evidence while a key defense witness was improperly barred from testifying, a McHenry County judge Tuesday denied a new trial for prominent businessman Billy J. Cox on charges he tried to kill his wife.

Cox instead faces a Friday sentencing hearing, where the noted scientist and business founder from Bull Valley faces 12 to 60 years in prison for a brutal, near-fatal attack on his wife in 2004.

Judge Joseph Condon offered no written and little oral explanation for his decision denying Cox a new trial, leaving defense attorney Mark Gummerson nothing to comment on afterward. However, Gummerson said he already has prepared a notice to appeal Cox's conviction and will file it formally after the sentencing.

Cox, 66, was found guilty in April on attempted first-degree murder and aggravated domestic battery charges alleging he beat his wife, Carolyn, nearly unconscious then locked her in a garage alongside at least one running vehicle in hopes she would die of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Cox, the founder of Richmond-based Exacto Inc., denied the claims and his defense theorized that his wife suffered her injuries when she fell from a ladder inside the garage onto a concrete block. She later accused her husband, the defense argued, at the suggestion of the couple's son, who they claimed wanted full control of the family business.

In a motion seeking a new trial, Gummerson argued that McHenry County prosecutors did not turn over evidence that detectives had explored the possibility Carolyn Cox was injured by a concrete block, similar to the defense claims.

The defense also claimed that Condon erred by barring testimony from psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, a nationally recognized expert on memory and how suggestion can create false memories.

Gummerson said Tuesday he does not expect Cox to make any statements on his own behalf when sentenced later this week.

"He's not going to get up there and make some apology for something he didn't do," he said. "He's very remorseful for what happened to his wife, but not at his hands."