Tri-Cities man suspected of killing wife, setting their home on fire arrested in Oklahoma
The Tri-Cities man suspected of killing his wife and burning down their Kennewick home has been arrested in Oklahoma.
Brian L. Wilcox, 68, has been on the run since last Monday. He is accused of killing his wife in the kitchen of their mobile home at 1405 S. Elm St., and then setting the home on fire.
An autopsy showed Kathy Wilcox, 72, was killed sometime before the home caught fire just after 10:30 a.m. on April 25.
Lt. Jason Erickson confirmed the autopsy showed she had been shot. Other information was being held back because of the ongoing investigation.
A nationwide warrant with a $1 million bail was issued for Brian Wilcox on charges of first-degree murder and first-degree arson.
On Monday, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office received information that Brian Wilcox was in Del City, Okla., according to a news release from Erickson.
That’s more than 1,700 miles away from where he was last seen at a Tri-Cities bank the day of the fire.
Erickson said detectives reached out to local law enforcement in Del City to let them know Wilcox was in their area. He was located and arrested without incident on the warrants.
He said detectives will work with the Benton County Prosecutor’s Office to begin the extradition process.
Benton County Sheriff Tom Croskrey commended the detectives for their work in tracking Wilcox down.
“I would like to recognize the exceptional investigative skills of our detectives working this case,” Croskey said in the news release. “In their effort to locate Mr. Wilcox, they reached out to our detective assigned to the U.S. Marshals Task Force. We appreciate their collaborative efforts. It is because of their hard work that Mr. Wilcox was arrested.”
Fire and investigation
On April 25, Benton County Fire District 1 was called to the home after a passerby spotted fire coming from the front door and roof. When they were able to douse the blaze, firefighters discovered a body that matched Kathy Wilcox’s description.
When police were able to go into the house, they found a melted piece of plastic that looked like a gas can, and a strong smell of gasoline where the fire is believed to have started.
Information from their son led investigators to believe that Wilcox took his rifles and handguns with him before he left the house in his wife’s blue 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport with a Washington license plate of BIP2617.
Detectives were able to located footage of Wilcox going to a West Kennewick Avenue branch of a bank about the same time firefighters arrived at the home. He was seen talking with tellers and leaving the bank.
It’s not clear what Wilcox did after leaving the bank. Family members had not been able to contact him.
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 8:03 PM.
