Custody awarded after parents’ murder-suicide

Published 12:20 pm Thursday, January 3, 2013

FERGUS FALLS — 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.

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Belmonte’s mother, Bobbi Teeple, also wanted custody of the child. 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.