Human remains found in Niagara Falls home, police link discovery to accused murderer

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Niagara Falls neighborhood is shaken after police uncovered human remains boarded up under basement stairs in a home on Orleans Avenue.

“Just hearing about it would’ve been shocking. Living next door is insane. Living next to ghosts,” said Antonnio Passauer, who lives next door to the home where human remains were found.It was crazy to think human remains, found in the basement? Wow,” said Thomas Owens, who lives across the street.

Police told WIVB News 4 that 61-year-old Richard Fox, who was once a tenant in the home on Orleans Avenue, is a person of interest. Fox is already accused of murdering two Buffalo women.

Authorities accuse Fox of killing 50-year-old Marquita Mull in 2021 and dumping her body off a trail in Chautauqua County.

He’s also accused of killing Cassandra Watson, who was last seen alive in Buffalo in 2003 or 2004. She was around 40 years old when she went missing.

Fox is currently held behind bars awaiting trial in the murders of Mull and Watson.

According to state records, Fox was alsoAccording to state records, Fox was also previously convicted of two sex crimes. In 1993, he was convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl and served 18 months to three years in prison. The second sex crime was in 2005; he was convicted of raping a 42-year-old Buffalo woman and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

“It shocked me. I had conversations in the past and seemed like a normal, ordinary person, a working man. He never gave off a violent vibe,” Owens said.

“That could’ve been one of my daughters. They could’ve not made it in the house and it’s just as close as right next door,” said Courtney Lamar, who lives next door to the home.The remains are at the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office pending an autopsy. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Niagara Falls police at 716-286-4553.