Court documents are sharing grim details after deputies said an Arkansas man amputated his own leg in front of his young child. An arrest affidavit filed Sept. 8 in Boone County shows deputies responded to a home on Aug. 2 where a man was found lying in front of the residence naked and missing part of his right leg.
The responding deputies identified the man as 48-year-old Shannon Cox and said the man said his leg had been taken off “with a chop saw.” While searching the scene, deputies found a trail of blood leading to a large chop saw and the detached limb lying on the tool.
Authorities said the man was taken to a nearby hospital by helicopter. According to the documents, the only other person deputies found at the home at that time was Cox’s 5-year-old child, who investigators said was present during the ordeal.
Deputies interviewed Cox’s wife Sandy the day after the incident. She claimed her husband had been “acting odd all day,” telling her that he was “Jesus Christ” and saying she needed to “get right with the lord.” At that point, she claimed the man began to get violent and claimed to be “Satan.”
Sandy Cox told deputies her husband threatened to “twist her head off” and make other threats but noted that he never followed through with physical violence, just verbal abuse. She went on to tell the deputies she left the home in fear of her husband.
When asked by deputies about why she did not bring her child, Sandy Cox said she was worried about what her husband would do to her and not about her child. Investigators also interviewed the child, who confirmed that Shannon Cox had cut off his own leg and that the child had been there when that happened. Deputies noted the child still appeared to be in shock over the events. (KARK)
