Frederick Pete Cox

Described by his neighbors as an unfriendly and rather quiet person, Frederick was seen as a nice old man by family and relatives, who enjoyed talking to younger people and tinkering with his ham radio at home. Due to a back injury he sustained in 1996, he was discharged from the army and had to walk using a cane, but still managed to earn a living from his job as a telemarketer.

In 1988, Frederick was arrested for the first time at an adult book store named "Red Garter", after police found him masturbating on the premises. Charged with indecent exposure, he was to be put up for pre-trial diversion (since it was his first offense). However, before that could happen, in 1990, he was arrested yet again for possession of marijuana outside a Publix store parking lot. He plead no contest to the charges, and agreed to community service, additionally volunteering for "Mothers Against Crack Cocaine", an organization aimed at helping drug addicts recover. According to Mae Steger, the group's leader, Cox was an active and helpful participant.

Born in the state capital of Tallahassee, Cox moved to Orlando at an early age, graduating from Jones High School in 1972, after which he enrolled in the United States Army Reserve's 143rd Transportation Command as a cook. He served for three years in West Germany, before receiving an honorable discharge and returning to Orlando. In the following years, he worked a number of jobs: most notably, as an Orange County correctional officer for a few months in 1978, but was fired for falling asleep while at work. Some years prior to his crime spree, he moved into a modest concrete house in Pine Hills, where he lived with his common law wife, two sons and two German shepherds.

Frederick Pete Cox (born August 27, 1953) is an American serial killer. Formerly a telemarketer, in the span of a few months in 1997, he attacked five women in Orlando, Florida, resulting in the deaths of three. After an initial mistrial, Cox was found guilty at his second trial and sentenced to life imprisonment, plus 30 years for attempted murder.

According to psychologist Greg Coram, of the Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, Cox's case bore similarities to the killings of Andrew Cunanan, who operated in an almost parallel timeframe, with his final murder, that of fashion designer Gianni Versace, taking place in Florida as well. On July 23, Cox was indicted for the murders of Stephanie Singleton and Mary Ann Voepel. His first trial resulted in a hung jury, as the 12th member refused to accept Cox's guilt and was certain that there was insufficient evidence to his guilt. After an intensive debate, which resulted in some jurors begging and pleading for a conviction, a new trial for Frederick Cox was ordered at a later date.