(IRONTON, Ohio) — An Ironton man pleaded guilty today to charges of aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated arson, child endangering and domestic violence in connection with the death of his estranged wife in June 2009.

Thomas Wilcox, 39, was immediately sentenced by Lawrence County Court of Common Pleas Judge Charles Cooper to life in prison without the possibility of parole. With his guilty plea, Wilcox avoids a possible death sentence.

Wilcox's plea came as preparations were under way for the case to go to trial in January 2011. Wilcox was accused of setting his estranged wife, 38-year-old Amy Wilcox, on fire inside her Ironton-area home in April 2009. The couple's daughter, then 11, was also in the home at the time. Amy Wilcox died of her injuries two months later.

The Special Prosecutions Unit of Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray's office served as special prosecutor in the Wilcox case at the request of Lawrence County Prosecuting Attorney J. B. Collier Jr.

Attorney General Cordray's Special Prosecutions Unit is a division of the Attorney General's Criminal Justice section. Since taking office in January 2009, Cordray has increased resources for the Special Prosecutions unit by 50 percent. At the request of county prosecutors, the unit's career prosecutors try serious felony cases throughout Ohio. The unit may be appointed by the court to serve as a special prosecutor when the county prosecutor has a conflict of interest or may assist county prosecutors who request additional resources. Areas of focus include homicides, child sex offenses, white collar crime and alleged wrongdoing by public officials.

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