In January 2023, Crystal Curthoys, a 32-year-old woman formerly of Lockport, New York, disappeared in Niagara Falls. For more than two years, her whereabouts remained a mystery, leaving her family to wonder where she was and if she was safe. The harrowing answer to that question would not come until March 2025, when investigators uncovered the dark secret hidden within a house on Orleans Avenue.
The discovery would reveal that Crystal’s life had been taken by a man already known to law enforcement as a serial killer.
The investigation that ultimately located Crystal was connected to a series of other horrific crimes committed by Richard J. Fox. After Fox was arrested and charged with the murders of two other women, Cassandra Watson and Marquita Mull, the Niagara Falls Police Department launched an investigation into his activities in their city. This led them to a house where Fox had once lived and also worked as a handyman. Acting on a tip, detectives from multiple agencies, including the Buffalo Police Homicide Squad and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, executed a search warrant on the property on March 28, 2025.
In the basement of the building, investigators made a grisly discovery. Concealed behind a newly constructed section of drywall and tucked beneath a staircase, they found human remains wrapped in plastic and a tarp. The scene was the tragic end of the search for Crystal Curthoys. It took months for a positive identification to be made, but through dental records, authorities confirmed in late 2025 that the victim was indeed Crystal. Investigators believe that Fox, using his access as a handyman, murdered her in an assault before hiding her body within the wall.
Richard J. Fox, 62 at the time of his indictment for Crystal's murder, was already serving a sentence of 40 years to life for the killings of Watson and Mull. His history of violence was extensive, and he had also confessed to killing his own grandmother in 1976 at the age of 13, a crime for which he could not be charged due to his age. Faced with the evidence of Crystal’s murder, Fox was charged with Murder in the Second Degree. He reportedly told law enforcement he would only appear in court twice: once to plead guilty and once to be sentenced.
On January 29, 2026, Fox kept his word and pleaded guilty to murdering Crystal Curthoys. During his sentencing on April 15, 2026, prosecutors spoke of the profound and lasting pain inflicted on Crystal’s family, who were unable to bring themselves to attend the hearing, not wanting their final memories of her to be connected to her killer. The judge, describing Fox’s history as one of "profound evil," noted his complete lack of remorse. Fox had admitted to investigators that he beat and choked Crystal to death and then simply went home, feeling no urgency or horror at what he had done.
For the murder of Crystal Curthoys, Richard J. Fox was sentenced to the maximum term of 25 years to life in prison. This sentence was ordered to be served consecutively to his prior sentences, bringing his total minimum time in prison to 65 years and ensuring he will never again be free.
Following the conviction, Niagara County District Attorney Brian D. Seaman emphasized the importance of seeking justice specifically for Crystal, even though her killer was already imprisoned for life. “Crystal was not just a number to be added to this defendant's tally sheet," Seaman stated. "She was a person with a family and a life. What she would have made of the life before her will now never be known. We hope that holding this defendant accountable for her killing brings some small amount of consolation to Crystal's family.”
