Custody awarded after parents' murder-suicide near Fergus Falls
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) — A judge in Otter Tail County has awarded custody of an orphaned child to the parents of a teen who killed the toddler's mother and then himself.
Darrin and Catherine Cox sought custody of the girl after their 17-year-old son, Dylan Cox, shot and killed his 16-year-old girlfriend, Tabitha Belmonte, and then himself.
The teenagers and their baby were living with the Coxes in Amor when the murder-suicide took place in March of 2011. The Coxes were granted temporary custody a short time later.
Belmonte's mother, Bobbi Teeple, also wanted custody of the child. The Forumreports Judge Wally Senyk granted Teeple visitation rights. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Teeple against the estate of Dylan Cox and his parents is scheduled for trial Oct. 1.