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A volatile ex-con gunned down his wife and her 7-year-old grandson in their apartment be-
fore committing suicide in a Brooklyn bloodbath, police said Tuesday. David Sherrod, 44,
shot spouse Alma Cox and her beloved grandson, Jaquan Cox of Poughkeepsie, in the head
before turning the .357 caliber revolver on himself in the Bedford-Stuyvesant home author-
ities said. Cox, 51, was hosting the child at her apartment for the weekend before heading
on vacation to visit family in the South, police and a family friend said. Their decomposing
remains were discovered just before midnight Monday along with Sherrod’s body. Cops
went to the second-floor apartment on Lafayette Ave. after a 911 caller reported a foul odor
coming from the home. The gun was recovered from the blood-spattered apartment, cops
said. Cox “was a very nice lady,” said neighbor Karen Mensch. “Always kind. This is just
so terrible.” Sherrod was charged with assault after police responded to an Aug. 20, 2010,
domestic disturbance report, and a co-worker said Cox was ready to dump her husband
over his behavior. “Alma was a victim of abuse,” the co-worker said. “She told us all he was
abusing her. She wanted to leave, and that’s why we think he snapped.” Neighbors re-
counted loud arguments, but were stunned by word of the triple shooting. “I could hear
them (arguing),” said Otis Hampton, 53, who lived directly upstairs. “But there was noth-
ing to indicate this. This is shocking.” A family friend said the boy’s father dropped him
off Saturday with Cox in anticipation of the family getaway. Sherrod, who acknowledged
during a parole hearing that he smoked crack as a teen, was last released from prison in
2009. Sherrod was initially paroled in 2001 on a drug possession rap, and sent back to
jail two years later on a parole violation. He also did two years for armed robbery before
his parole in 1990. The suicidal killer and Cox were “the best couple in the world,” Sher-
rod’s son said through sobs Tuesday outside the apartment. Sherrod’s older brother
Mark said his sibling showed no signs of trouble. “David was proud of his life,” said
Mark Sherrod. “He loved his life. He was proud of his job, and he loved his family.” The
bodies had been in apartment 2A possibly since Saturday night, when neighbors heard
gunshots about 11 p.m. after a daylong block party. “I heard pow, pow, pow,” said Bar-
bara Peoples, who lives in the apartment next door. “I said, ‘What the hell was that?’
My grandson said those were firecrackers. I said, ‘Them was no firecrackers.’” The
death stench was soon seeping from the apartment as the July temperatures soared,
and police were finally called on Monday. The couple worked at the Northeast Brooklyn
Housing Development Corp., a non-profit group that provides affordable rental housing
to low-income residents. Alma Cox worked there for 18 years, handling a variety of dut-
ies from administrative work to coordinating community events. “She showed great
leadership in her work,” said her boss, Jeff Dunston. “It’s a terrible loss … She loved her
grandchildren very much.”
