Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice has announced that Evan Marshall of Glen Cove has pleaded guilty to charges of murder in the first degree, three counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, burglary in the second degree and criminal mischief in the fourth degree in connection with the Aug. 17, 2006 homicide and dismemberment of neighbor Denice Fox. Mr. Marshall also pleaded guilty to charges of assault and leaving the scene of an incident involving physical injury without reporting, charges that stem from an unrelated vehicular incident the morning of the murder.

In exchange for his guilty plea, a Nassau County judge has agreed to sentence Mr. Marshall to 30 years-to-life in prison for his crimes. Prior to Wednesday's plea, Mr. Marshall had been scheduled to stand trial beginning next week. The defendant faced a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of all the charges after trial.

DA Rice objected to the sentence and stated her desire that the defendant never be paroled or allowed to re-enter society. "This was a brutal murder and this defendant does not deserve to ever see the light of day," said Ms. Rice. "My office was committed to holding this defendant accountable and that's exactly what we've done. Now we will fight to keep him behind bars for the rest of his life."

On Aug. 18, 2006, Evan Marshall, then 31, was arrested by a Glen Cove police officer driving into his gated community in Glen Cove. He was charged that afternoon with murder in the second degree after authorities found the mutilated and dismembered corpse of the defendant's neighbor, Ms. Fox, 57, in garbage cans in his family's basement. Later that same day, Nassau County Police Detectives found the victim's severed head in a bag in the defendant's car.

The assault and leaving the scene of an incident involving physical injury charges stem from an unrelated incident occurring early on the morning of Aug. 17, 2006. A Glen Cove woman was struck by a vehicle traveling westbound on New Woods Road at approximately 8:30 a.m. As a passerby responded to the victim, the car left the scene of the incident without notifying police and without attending to the victim's injuries. The car, registered to the defendant, was being driven by the defendant when he was apprehended in Glen Cove the following day.

In September 2006, a grand jury handed down a 13-count indictment, including an elevated charge of murder in the first degree.

Major Offense Bureau Chief and Assistant District Attorney Mitchell Benson and Assistant District Attorney Ken St. Bernard are handling the case for the district attorney's office. Mr. Marshall is being represented by William Keahon, Esq.

Mr. Marshall is due back in court for sentencing Nov. 19 in front of Nassau County Court Judge Richard LaPera.