ELKTON, Md.- A plea deal has been reached in the case against a man accused of kidnapping and murdering an 11-year-old Salisbury girl.
Thomas J. Leggs Jr., 31, of Salisbury, appearing in Cecil County Circuit Court on Tuesday morning, admitted his guilt in Sarah Haley Foxwell's death.
"I am guilty," Leggs told the court multiple times, as he took responsibility for his crimes.
Under the terms of the plea deal, Leggs received two life sentences without parole: one for first-degree murder and the other for first-degree sexual offense. He was also given 30 years in prison for kidnapping and 20 years for burglary. All sentences are to be served consecutively.
In a statement to Sarah's family, Leggs said there was no excuse for his "monstrous act." He also said he was thankful Sarah's family spared his life, and that he will spend the rest of his life doing "whatever is necessary" to make sure a crime such as the one he committed is never again perpetrated against another child. Leggs also apologized that because of his actions, Sarah would never see adulthood.
At a press conference held outside the courthouse after the judicial proceedings, Wicomico County State's Attorney Matthew Maciarello - whose office prosecuted the case - said the decision to no longer seek the death penalty against Leggs was largely made out of respect for Sarah's family.
"The Foxwell family has told me that they do not want a lifetime of anguish and appeals, due to the extreme stress, havoc and grief the death of Sarah has caused them and their need to begin healing from this horrible, despicable crime," Maciarello said.
"And because they wished to protect Sarah's sister, a 7-year-old material witness in the case, they have unanimously requested that we withdraw our notice to seek the death penalty in consideration for the plea agreement placed on the record today."
Maciarello also noted that the history of the death penalty in Maryland indicates that it would be highly unlikely that Leggs would be ever executed.
Davis Ruark, who served as a special prosecutor in the case, said that due to the magnitude of the crimes committed against Sarah, it was his personal opinion that Leggs deserved to be put to death. Despite having to withdraw the death penalty against Leggs in order to work out a plea agreement, Ruark said he still believed justice was served in this case.
"Yes, to the extent that the family's wishes were honored, justice was served in this case," Ruark said. When asked if he believed a compromise had been made with a convicted child killer, Ruark replied, "It's not a compromise. He will never come out of prison alive."
Also at the press conference, Sarah's mother Jennifer Foxwell said that now that her daughter's killer is going to prison for the rest of his life, her family can have closure.
"Thank you all so much for giving up your Christmas of '09 to bring our baby home," she said. "We now have closure and we can all move on- including the community."
The press conference took an unexpected turn when Sarah's grandmother, Robert Wechsler, took the podium. She thanked the thousands of people who supported her family and then launched a verbal attack on local blogger Joe Albero.
"From the moment of Sarah's kidnapping, in my opinion, he has exploited her murder and her memory and tortured and pillaged my family."
Following Weschsler's statements, Albero was asked if, as Weschler alleged, he profited off of Sarah's death. Albero denied those allegations. He said that while he is considering writing a book about the tragedy, he has not victimized Sarah's family in any way.
"Absolutely not. Sarah did not die on my watch- let's just put it that way. She did not pass on my watch," Albero said.
According to court records, on Dec. 23, 2009 Leggs kidnapped and killed Sarah. After a massive three-day search that involved hundreds of police officers and civilians, Sarah's burned body was found in a wooded area of Wicomico County on Christmas Day of 2009.
Authorities have said that Leggs- a convicted sex offender in Maryland and Delaware- had dated Sarah's aunt for a short time several months before the girl's kidnapping and death.
As part of the plea deal, which spared him a possible death sentence, Leggs agreed to give investigators additional details about the kidnapping and murder of Sarah.
Thomas J. Leggs Jr.
Thomas Leggs, right, is shown being placed in a Department of Corrections van on Tuesday after pleading guilty to the kidnapping and murder of 11-year-old Sarah Foxwell. (Photo: WBOC)
Sarah Haley Foxwell, murder victim
