Thursday, May 5, 2011

Child Killer Slashed in Prison

CUMBERLAND, Md.- Authorities say a man serving two life sentences in prison for the  kidnapping and murder of an 11-year-old Salisbury girl has been slashed by another inmate.
Thomas J. Leggs Jr., 31, of Salisbury, is being held in Western Correctional Institution, a maximum security prison in Cumberland. According to the Maryland Department of Corrections, Leggs was slashed three times in the head, neck and hand with a homemade weapon.  They say the fight happened in the dining area of the prison.  Police recovered the weapon, but do not know who attacked Leggs.

According to court records, on Dec. 23, 2009 Leggs kidnapped and killed Sarah Haley Foxwell. 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.

On March 29 of this year, Leggs appeared in Cecil County Circuit Court where he admitted his guilt in Sarah's death. Under the terms of a 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.

As part of the plea deal, which spared him a possible death sentence, Leggs agreed to give investigators additional details about Sarah's kidnapping and murder.

VIA: WBOC.com

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