BROWNSTOWN — A Norman man will spend the next six decades behind bars for the 2025 shooting death of his father.
On Tuesday afternoon, Judge Richard Poynter sentenced 29-year-old Robert Walter Dean Fox to 60 years in prison in Jackson Circuit Court. The sentencing follows a February 18 verdict in which a 12-member jury found Fox guilty of the murder of 76-year-old Larry D. Fox Sr.
During the proceedings, Judge Poynter dismissed the prosecution’s theory of financial gain, instead attributing the crime to deep-seated resentment. Poynter characterized the act as premeditated murder fueled by “rage” and the hatred the younger Fox held toward his father.
“I hope at some point you come clean to your family,” Poynter told the defendant, noting that he had known the victim both professionally and personally.
Before the impact statements were read, Robert Fox testified about a “Fox rage” within the family. Despite the conviction, he maintained a complicated view of his own character, telling the court, “You can be a cold-blooded killer and be a good person.”
Jackson County Prosecutor Lynsey Fleetwood successfully argued for a sentence above the state’s 55-year advisory for murder. Fleetwood highlighted two primary aggravating factors:
- The nature of the killing, noting that Fox shot his father in the back.
- The extensive measures Fox took to conceal the crime and maintain a web of lies following the January 30, 2025, incident.
“What he does matters more than what he was,” Fleetwood said, describing the 60-year term as both “earned and just.”
Defense attorney Bradley Johnson argued that the loss of a relationship with his children served as its own form of lifelong punishment for Fox. Johnson noted that even with a minimum sentence, Fox would have been in his mid-60s before being eligible for release.
Under Indiana law, murder is a felony carrying a range of 45 to 65 years. Fox, who was arrested in April 2025, will serve a 60-year term in the Indiana Department of Corrections.
