Neighbors say William Cox loved grandson accused of killing him

YOUNGSTOWN

Neighbors who knew him say 87-year-old William Cox loved the grandson who police say beat him to death late Monday.

They said Cox took in a troubled Julius Williams, 28, to help him. Instead, Williams is in jail on a charge of aggravated murder in Cox’s death and is expected to be arraigned in municipal court today.

Standing in a backyard across the street from the home in the 300 block of Harvard Street where Cox was found dead at about 11:30 p.m. Monday, a group of four men said Cox was well-loved and respected in the neighborhood and he also could make a mean barbecue.

“He’d give you his right arm if he could,” said Kenneth Andrews.

Read more about him and the case in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.