What Became of the murderer of Michael Turnbull

Some background on the following newspaper article excerpts can be found here.


BILL TOUGHENS INSANITY DEFENSE

"The House Judiciary Committee has introduced a bill that would make it tougher for accused criminals to plead insanity as a defense and ensure that those found insane were confined longer, said Rep. Elaine Wells, D-Carbondale. Wells pushed for the bill after Wichitan Gary Cox was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the slaying of Michael Turnbull, 18, who had lived in Wells' district. Prosecutors now must prove be yond a reasonable doubt that someone using insanity as a..."

Published on February 27, 1988, Page 4B, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)


JUDGE DENIES APPEAL FOR HOSPITAL CHANGE

"A man sent to a state mental hospital after killing one person and injuring three others in a 1987 shooting spree at a Wichita fitness club lost his bid Monday to move to a less restrictive hospital for treatment. A judge found Gary Cox, 33, not guilty by reason of insanity after Cox admitted to shooting four people at the Nautilus Fitness Center at 2234 S. Oliver. Michael Turnbull, 18, was killed and three others were wounded. Physicians later diagnosed Cox as a paranoid schizophrenic who..."

Published on November 23, 1993, Page 3D, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)


JUDGE WON'T LET INMATE SWITCH HOSPITALS

"A man sent to a state mental hospital after killing one person and injuring three others in a 1987 shooting spree at a Wichita fitness club lost his bid Monday to move to a less restrictive hospital for treatment. A judge found Gary Cox, 33, not guilty by reason of insanity after Cox admitted to shooting four people at the Nautilus Fitness Center at 2234 S. Oliver. Michael Turnbull, 18, was killed and three others were wounded. Physicians later diagnosed Cox as a paranoid schizophrenic who... "

Published on November 23, 1993, Page 3D, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)


GETTING TOUGH ON THE MENTALLY ILL

"TOPEKA In 1987, Gary Cox walked into a Wichita fitness center, pulled out a gun and opened fire, killing an 18-year-old man and wounding three other people. At Cox's trial, a judge agreed with doctors who said Cox was a paranoid schizophrenic who, at the time of the murder, hallucinated that he was about to be stabbed. The judge found Cox not guilty by reason of insanity and sent him to Larned State Hospital, where Cox remains a patient. To state Rep. Elaine Wells, R-Carbondale, ..."

Published on January 16, 1994, Page 1B, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)


SPA KILLER READY FOR RELEASE

"Doctors at Osawatomie State Hospital say the man who killed a teenager and wounded three people in a Wichita health club in 1987 is ready to rejoin society. Gary Cox, 35, has spent the past eight years being treated for paranoid schizophrenia. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Turnbull on Feb. 26, 1987, at the Nautilus Fitness Center, 2234 S. Oliver. Sedgwick County prosecutors can't talk about Cox's case until..."

Published on October 1, 1995, Page 1B, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)


HEALTH CLUB GUNMAN WILL NOT BE FREED \ JUDGE: PSYCHIATRIC CARE MUST GO ON
"Gary Cox - the man who killed one person and wounded three others in a 1987 shooting spree at a Wichita fitness center - will not be released from a state mental hospital, a Sedgwick County District judge ruled Friday. But District Judge Dan Brooks warned Cox's victims and their families that there is a chance he'll reconsider his ruling if Cox continues to make progress in the treatment of his paranoid schizophrenia. "It is progress of a sort that makes..."

Published on October 21, 1995, Page 1D, Wichita Eagle, The (KS)