FBI adds to reward in Franklin's only unsolved murder

Federal investigators are ramping up efforts to help Franklin police track down the killer behind the city's only unsolved murder, officials announced in a news release Wednesday.

A reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction has been increased by $5,000 to $25,000, including state and city contributions, with $15,000 coming from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the release said.

The move comes not long after the Tennessean highlighted the case, which continues to bedevil police almost a quarter century later.

In 2011 Franklin Detective Darren Barnes, who is part of an FBI task force, asked to take on the case. In 2014 the FBI offered $10,000 for the reward.

It was the latest in a long string of efforts to reach anyone who might be able to help investigators.

"It's our hope that this latest public push by law enforcement in the case leads to someone coming forward with a key piece of information or evidence that results in justice for Peggy Cox and closure for her three children," the FBI media release said.

Franklin Police Chief Deborah Faulkner said in an emailed statement that the bureau has been "an extraordinary resource and friend to this case."

"This case is important to us, it's important to Peggy Cox's family, and it's important to this community," she said. "We will not stop until we are able to answer the haunting question: Who killed Peggy Cox?"

Cox, a single mother, was gunned down as she prepared to serve the last drive-thru customer of the night at the Hardee's on Murfreesboro Road.

She was slain on her 49th birthday, Feb. 1, 1991, at about 11:45 p.m.

The case has since been a thorn in the side of the Franklin Police Department and left her family struggling for resolution --though her oldest daughter, Desiree Cox, said recently that she hasn't given up hope.

Officials have said that part of what has made the murder so baffling is an apparent lack of motive, in addition to a lack of witnesses.

Cox kept largely to herself, though she was beloved by her kids and their friends -- many of whom called her "Mama."

Cox's son, Jude Cox, was working in the kitchen nearby and was the first to reach her as she fell. He was 20 at the time.

Jude Cox recently told the Tennessean that he's glad authorities have tried to keep a spotlight on the case.

"If other people keep thinking about it, one day somebody that knows more about it might decide to say something," he said.

Reach Jill Cowan at 615-664-2150 or on Twitter @jillcowan.

Anyone with knowledge of Peggy Cox's murder is urged to called the Franklin Police tip line at 615-550-8404 or submit an eTip at http://bit.ly/10l10U0.

For more information, go to www.catchpeggyskiller.com .

