Victim Danielle Watson
Murderer Marx Cox
The Flying Biscuit
CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Police in Charlotte say the man accused of killing his pregnant co-worker during a robbery at a south Charlotte restaurant was brought back to Charlotte Monday after he was arrested by police in Fayetteville.
Mark Anthony Cox, 22, of Charlotte, was arrested by Fayetteville police and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Violent Criminal Apprehension Team around 1 p.m. Monday off of Rosehill Road in Fayetteville.
Cox is now in the Mecklenburg County Jail where he is being held on charges of murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon of a business and robbery with a dangerous weapon of a person, according to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office.
Cox has a hearing on the charges at 1 p.m.
Police say the recently released felon fatally stabbed his co-worker during a robbery at the Flying Biscuit Cafe late Friday night.
Mark Cox was taken into custody by the Fayetteville Police Department around 12:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon.
Renee Davis says she worked with the victim, Danielle Watson, and her alleged killer Mark Cox at the Flying Biscuit Cafe.
Davis says Cox, who had just been hired in December after serving prison time for robbery, worked in the kitchen. Watson, hired just a week or two after Cox, was a manager there and had access to the safe.
"It's just so hard. She was such a good girl," Davis said about Watson.
Cox started working at the restaurant shortly after he was released from prison for robbery with a dangerous weapon.
"He had told me he had been falsely accused of robbery. I didn't know he served time for it," Davis said.
"That day the only thing he mentioned to me was his baby's mama had texted him the day before (the robbery) and wanted him to send her some money so he could move. And he says 'I'm not sending her any money, I don't have any money.'"
The body of 25-year-old Danielle Marie Watson, who was two-months pregnant, was found with stab wounds.
Police say her body was discovered by a man trying to empty the dumpster behind a Chick-Fil-A restaurant on Rea Road early Saturday morning.
He immediately contacted police, who connected Watson to a robbery at the Flying Biscuit Cafe at the Stonecrest Shopping Center. However, some communication trouble among police lead them to a different named restaurant.
Police said the robbery at the cafe was reported around 6:30 Saturday morning. Watson's parents told WBTV that, as a manager of Flying Biscuit, Watson had the combination to the restaurant's safe.
Watson's body was discovered about an hour after the robbery was reported, police said.
Investigators now believe Mark Anthony Cox, 22, is responsible for Watson's death. They believe he stole her vehicle after the robbery and murder. That vehicle is a baby blue, two-door, 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier with North Carolina license ZYX-1952.
On Monday afternoon, police say Cox was arrested in Fayetteville. He was reportedly found at the home of an "associate" police told WBTV, Watson's car was found several blocks away.
Police say Cox was taken into custody, without incident. Charlotte detectives are on their way to Fayetteville to interview Cox.
Danielle's parents talked with us over the phone, and shared some disturbing details about what they'd learned.
"After [Cox] left my daughter," David Watson said, "he took her car and I guess he maybe got $2600 at the most at the safe...he went home.
That's where he lives with his parents across the street, and his sister, and from what I hear he told his sister what happened."
"He just said he did something really bad," added Denise, Danielle's mother.
CMPD said Watson's fiance received a phone call late Friday night that led him to believe Watson was in trouble. He tried to get back in touch with her, but when he couldn't, he called police.
There was a mix-up though with the address and it took several hours for police to figure out all the details.
If you can help with this investigation, call Crimestoppers at 704-334-1600.
Watson's case could be the first one prosecuted under the "Unborn Victim's Act." The new law took effect December 1. It allows prosecutors to charge an offender with murder of a fetus even if the offender or victim did not know about the pregnancy.
http://southcharlotte.wbtv.com/news/...t-cafe-manager