On the evening of January 30, 2025, on his family farm in Norman, Indiana, 76-year-old Larry D. Fox was shot and killed. His son, 28-year-old Robert Walter Dean Fox, was subsequently arrested and charged with his murder. The investigation into Larry's death uncovered a story of family tension and a dispute over inheritance that ultimately led to the fatal confrontation.
Weeks before the incident, Larry had reportedly informed his son Robert of his intention to reduce his share of the
family's extensive 700-acre real estate inheritance. This decision was allegedly due to what Larry perceived as his son's poor work ethic. On the night of the shooting, Robert called his father, luring him to a barn on the property with a story about suspected trespassers. Phone records confirmed three calls between the father and son just before the final, fatal meeting.
According to a witness who was present at the scene, he met with Robert that night without initially knowing the reason. The witness stated that he heard Larry and Robert speaking without yelling before he saw a flash and a gunshot, and then witnessed Larry fall toward his son. After shooting his father, Robert allegedly told the witness, 'It was finally over,' and then, after the witness refused to shoot him in the arm, Robert shot himself in the left arm to stage an attack. Robert's initial account to the police was that they were attacked by unknown assailants. He claimed that after hearing gunshots, his father fell, and he returned fire with his own handgun before being shot in the arm. He also claimed another shot struck his vehicle's windshield as he fled the scene.
However, the physical evidence gathered by investigators contradicted Robert's story. An autopsy revealed that Larry had been shot at close range with a shotgun, a finding inconsistent with Robert's claim of being over 30 feet away. A witness account detailed that after the shooting, Robert drove them from the scene, abruptly stopped, and shot the windshield of his own Dodge Durango. He then gave the shotgun to the witness and instructed him to dispose of it in a lake or pond. Investigators later recovered the murder weapon, a 12-gauge shotgun that had been a gift to Robert from years prior. Further investigation revealed that the same shotgun had been used to shoot a trail camera on the property on a previous date when Larry was out of state.
Robert Walter Dean Fox was arrested on April 17, 2025, and booked into the Jackson County Jail on a charge of murder. He is being held without bond, with a jury trial scheduled for October 2025.
