Mother Pleads Not Guilty in Slaying of Man She Says Gave Drugs to Daughter

Belita Fox, the Lancaster mother who allegedly gunned down a 23-year-old construction worker she accused of giving drugs to her teen-age daughter, pleaded not guilty Friday to a charge of murder.

Lancaster Municipal Judge Ian R. Grant set a pretrial hearing Sept. 27 for Fox, 40, a housewife and mother of three, in the slaying early Wednesday of Kevin Furman.

Grant set bail at $100,000, rescinding a no-bail provision, after Fox’s attorney, Michael C. Eberhardt, argued for a reasonable amount. He said Fox would not flee if released, adding that she is a longtime Lancaster resident who surrendered immediately after the shooting.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Foltz agreed to the bail, saying he does not believe that Fox is dangerous or likely to flee.

Fox was still in custody as of Friday evening.

Victim Shot 3 Times

Authorities say Fox stormed into Furman’s house in Lancaster and shot him at least three times while he was in bed. Sheriff’s deputies arrested her without incident at the scene after she telephoned her 17-year-old daughter, Cheryl Wilson, from the room where the body lay, then called the 911 emergency number to surrender.

Foltz said witnesses saw Fox drinking at two bars Tuesday night and discussing her plans to kill Furman.

At Friday’s hearing, Fox appeared small, pale and shaken. Fox’s family and friends sobbed during the proceedings. They declined comment and shielded Wilson from reporters and photographers.

Furman’s family and friends expressed anger at those who have depicted the case as that of a mother avenging herself on a drug dealer. Detectives say Furman and his roommates were not drug dealers.

“He was a good kid,” said Furman’s sister, Terri Smith, 31. “She shot him in cold blood. That’s brutal.”

Furman was described as a hard-working, genial young man who planned to move out of the house he shared with several co-workers into his own apartment. Friends said Furman occasionally used marijuana and methamphetamine, also known as “crank,” but denied allegations that Furman had corrupted Wilson.

Furman dated Fox’s daughter briefly after meeting her four months ago through a cousin of Wilson’s, whom Furman also dated, friends said. Furman backed away from a romantic relationship because Wilson was a minor, they said.

“I used to warn him about her being 17,” Brian Neilson said. “I used to tease him about it.”

While Wilson occasionally used drugs with young people who gathered at Furman’s house, Neilson and others said, Furman did not introduce her to drugs. They said he was protective of her and allowed her to sleep on the couch when she left her mother’s home after an argument several weeks ago.

Neilson said Furman knew of the girl’s heart murmur, a condition that Fox allegedly accused Furman of worsening by giving her daughter drugs.

“Kevin knew about her heart condition” and did not encourage her to use drugs, Neilson said. “Nobody forced anything on Cheryl.”

Fox mistakenly believed that her daughter had spent the weekend at Furman’s house, Neilson said. She actually stayed at a nearby house occupied by friends of Furman, who gave Wilson medicine and tended her because she had the flu, he said.

Tim McCreary, who said he was asleep on a couch in Furman’s house on 5th Street East on the night of the shooting, said Fox was well-known for her dislike of Wilson’s friends. About a month ago, Fox slapped McCreary’s brother--one of Furman’s roommates--and threatened to kill him, calling him a bad influence on Wilson, McCreary said.

Stormed Past Roommates

When Fox arrived at the house about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, McCreary said, she stormed past Furman’s roommates into Furman’s bedroom and turned on the lights. She yelled at Furman about Wilson having become ill because of drug use, McCreary said.

Furman yelled back, “Hold on just a damn minute, lady,” McCreary said.

“She said, ‘I’ve got a .38 in my purse.’ I heard a click, then a shot. My brother kind of started going toward Kevin’s room. Then she shot a bunch more times, and we got out of there.”