Prosecutors: Man tries to hire hit man again

THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. — Brian Cox was already facing criminal charges for allegedly trying to hire a man to murder his wife, and KIRO 7 was in court Wednesday morning when Cox was charged with trying to murder someone else.

Thurston County prosecutors charged Cox with trying to hire a cellmate in the Thurston County jail to kill the key witness in the initial criminal case.

Prosecutor Craig Juris said, "He approached that cellmate with a request to help pay his bail to get him out of jail and then to have that person go out and assist Mr. Cox by making the witness disappear."

Prosecutors say Cox wanted his cellmate to kill a former co-worker at the state Department of Financial Institutions.

The target in the murder plot was the same man who went to police and helped get Cox arrested in June, when Cox  tried to hire a man to murder his wife during a difficult divorce, according to the charges.

Cox's defense attorney Paul Strophy, tells KIRO 7 the inmate claiming Cox tried to hire him to commit murder is a convicted robber who was looking to get a deal from prosecutors, and he doesn't believe the man's story is credible.

"I don't think the guy is believable or telling the truth here,” Strophy said.

Juris told KIRO 7 the inmate came forward on his own and has not been offered any deals in exchange for his testimony.

KIRO