Scott William Cox, born on November 3, 1963, in Newberg, Oregon, may be one of the most prolific but underreported serial killers in recent U.S. history.
Convicted of two brutal murders in Portland, Oregon, in 1993, Cox was suspected in at least 20 other unsolved murders across the United States and Canada. After a 25-year prison sentence, he was released on parole in 2013, yet his movements remain closely monitored. A drifter by trade and lifestyle, Cox’s history of violence and deception leaves chilling questions about how many more lives he may have taken.
A Troubled History and Path to Violence
Long before his murders, Cox’s life was marked by legal troubles and mental health issues. Between 1975 and his eventual murder convictions, Cox was admitted to mental institutions over 100 times and held numerous criminal charges, including forgery, gun theft, and parole violations. His career as a long-haul truck driver gave him access to vast stretches of the U.S. and even Canada, providing a chilling backdrop for his suspected role in multiple unsolved murders.
Cox’s transition from smaller crimes to murder began in 1990. On November 24, 1990, 34-year-old Rheena Ann Brunson was found brutally attacked near a Portland Safeway. She had been beaten, stabbed in the heart, and left to die. Despite medical efforts, she succumbed to her injuries shortly after being found. Months later, the body of Victoria Rhone was discovered in a Portland rail yard. She had been tied up with a shirt belonging to her attacker and strangled. Both murders remained unsolved until detectives connected them to Cox.
A Narrow Escape: The Survivor Who Identified Cox
On May 30, 1991, Cox attacked another woman in downtown Seattle. She survived, despite being beaten, raped, bitten, and left for dead. A witness saw the victim thrown from Cox’s truck, which bore the logo of Woodland Trucking, a company Cox worked for under the alias “Seth Scott Cutter.” Although police managed to interview Cox, the absence of the victim (who had left the state) and incomplete DNA evidence prevented formal charges.
This disturbing pattern led detectives to suspect Cox of being a serial killer in the making. Cox was flagged as a suspect across Oregon and Washington, and authorities soon discovered he was living under the name Scott William Cox in Newberg. A 1991 investigation eventually linked him to the murders of Brunson and Rhone, for which he later confessed. Cox revealed a chilling motive: after a night of drinking and drug use, he became enraged and attacked Brunson in an outburst of violence. However, he denied involvement in other murders despite investigators’ suspicions.
Conviction and Early Release
In September 1993, Cox pleaded no contest to two counts of murder. The judge imposed two 150-month consecutive terms with lifetime post-prison supervision. Legal complications, including the mishandling of Cox’s confession by police, weakened the prosecution’s case, sparing him from a potential aggravated murder charge that could have led to life without parole or capital punishment. A year after Cox’s conviction, Oregon passed Measure 11, which imposed harsher sentences for violent crimes—a sentence Cox narrowly avoided.
In February 2013, Cox was released on parole after serving 20 years of his sentence. Now a free man, he was subject to strict parole conditions, including GPS tracking, geographic restrictions, and a nightly curfew. The public was warned of his release, with authorities issuing alerts about the potential danger he posed.
Post-Prison Violations and Persistent Threats
Since his release, Cox has repeatedly violated parole. Within months, he was arrested for taking unauthorized routes, visiting a girlfriend with young children, and even smuggling contraband into jail. Additional charges resulted in brief jail stints, with authorities adding sex offender stipulations to his parole conditions to mitigate his risk to the public.
Unsolved Cases and Lingering Suspicions
Cox’s ties to at least 20 other murders remain unproven but deeply unsettling. Authorities have connected him to the 1990 murder of Tia Hicks in Seattle, whose body was found months after she went missing, with Cox reportedly in the area at the time. Other potential victims include Hazel Gelnett in Snohomish County, Vicky Lynn Perkins found in Utah, and Stephanie Douglas, who disappeared from McMinnville, Oregon. These cases remain cold, yet Cox is considered the prime suspect. Despite a police offer of immunity in exchange for confessions, Cox has refused to admit involvement in any additional murders.
A Man with Dark Secrets
Scott William Cox’s case exemplifies the dark potential of a drifter with violent tendencies and unrestricted mobility. Though he is a free man today, under the watchful eye of law enforcement, the full extent of his violent past remains cloaked in unanswered questions. Authorities continue to monitor Cox closely, knowing his dark history and possible undisclosed crimes. For the families of his suspected victims, justice remains elusive, and for the public, Cox’s story stands as a stark reminder of the dangers lurking on open highways.
