Coxwell, Marsh had been seen ‘panhandling and seeking shelter under trailers and in the loading bay at night’
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has determined that two individuals whose bodies were discovered early in the morning of July 28 behind Ollie’s Bargain Outlet on Cattlemen Road died in a murder-suicide incident, the agency has announced.
The victims were identified as Mandy Coxwell, 34, and Cameron Marsh, 33, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
At approximately 6:27 a.m. on July 28, a news release said, deputies responded to a 911 call regarding the two bodies on the property located at 4092 Cattlemen Road. “Upon arrival, deputies found Coxwell and Marsh under a semi-truck trailer in the loading bay of the business,” the release added. “Near the bodies, deputies discovered three bullet casings and a handgun,” it noted.
According to the results of the autopsy conducted by the District 12 Medical Examiner’s office, the news release said, Coxwell died from a gunshot wound to the head, while “Marsh sustained fatal wounds from shooting himself under the chin and in the neck. The incident has been classified as a murder-suicide.”
The Sheriff’s Office also pointed out, “Local business workers recognized Coxwell and Marsh as familiar figures in the area, sometimes seen panhandling and seeking shelter under trailers and in the loading bay at night.”
Deputies notified the next of kin, the agency added. “This is an ongoing investigation,” the news release said.
A Sarasota News Leader review of records maintained by Karen Rushing, Sarasota County clerk of the Circuit Court and county comptroller, and her staff found that in early February of this year, Coxwell and Marsh both were cited for a misdemeanor violation of the City of Sarasota’s camping ordinance. The officer who issued the citation wrote that he had observed Coxwell “and her boyfriend … using their white van as [living quarters]. It should be noted that I educated them approximately 1 month ago, regarding this violation but they continued to use the vehicle in such way.”
He added that he issued to both Marsh and Coxwell a Notice to Appear to attend the Community Care Court “to connect to services.”
Subsequent documents in the relevant case dockets showed that the couple did end up appearing before County Judge David Denkin during the May 5 session of the Community Care Court. Denkin dismissed the charges against them, the records of the proceedings added.
The only other charges against Coxwell that the News Leader found in the files maintained by the Clerk of Court’s Office showed that she had been cited in the past for the following: unknowingly operating a vehicle while her license was suspended, canceled or revoked; improper changing of lanes; and a red light camera violation.
As for Marsh: Between November 2011 and January 2023, he was cited for numerous traffic violations. Among them were one count of DUI that was reduced to Reckless Driving; two counts of Careless Driving; one charge of driving while his license was suspended; one count of running a stop sign; one red light camera violation; and one count of failing to obey the speed limit. In the last incident, he was cited for driving 52 mph in a 35 mph zone.
In conducting online research focused on Coxwell and Marsh, the News Leaderalso found a classified ad that Coxwell posted on the Patch website in July 2024. The following is the text:
At the end of the ad, Coxwell included an email address and a phone number where interested persons could reach her.