UPDATE: Family gives statement after Tanner Cox guilty verdict
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IDAHO FALLS — A jury of six men and six women found 23-year-old Tanner R. Cox guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Josh Olzak on Saturday, Dec. 5. He also was found not guilty on the charge of voluntary manslaughter.
The verdict ends a five-day trial. The jury deliberated for more than eight hours on Friday and Saturday before announcing they had a verdict Saturday morning.
As the clerk read the guilty verdict there were audible gasps in the courtroom.
The trial centered around a fight in the early morning hours of May 9. Cox allegedly punched Olzak one time – knocking him down and causing his head to hit the ground. Olzak died at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center on May 11.
Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Clark called the verdict a victory.
“I certainly believe (Cox) wasn’t intending to kill (Olzak),” Clark told EastIdahoNews.com. “Frankly, involuntary manslaughter was a charging option we consider quite a bit early on with the theory that he engaged in an unlawful act — the battery and punching him — that caused his death.
“The facts were fairly consistent that that is exactly what happened, so we are very pleased with the verdict.”
Gabrielle Olzak, Josh’s ex-wife, gave EastIdahoNews.com the following statement:
“We wanted to thank the community for their continued support and also the jury for their service, this could not have been easy. All that we have wanted is an acknowledgement that this behavior is not acceptable and we got that today. This has been a terrible tragedy, not just for us but for the Cox family as well. We hope that everyone can begin to heal.”
Cox will be sentenced Feb. 3.
CORRECTION: This article previously listed Gabrielle Olzak, as Josh’s widow. She is in fact his ex-wife. EastIdahoNews.com apologizes for the error.
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