PHOENIX — For years, Crystal Fox watched as her son’s mental health became more and more difficult to manage.
She said as a teenager, Joshua Fox began experiencing delusions. Court records show that at different times, he was a “danger to himself and a danger to others.” The records detailed he had a long history of diagnoses, including schizophrenia.
Crystal Fox and her son’s father, John, tried seeking help for Joshua Fox, but said hospitals and behavioral health providers turned them away.
“We both knew he was psychotic, we both knew he had schizophrenia," Crystal Fox said. “We could not get him help.”
In June 2021, Crystal Fox said her son’s undertreated mental illness caused another tragedy.
Joshua Fox stabbed his father to death while they were shopping for groceries in Tempe.
Joshua Fox was arrested and taken to jail. Crystal Fox said eventually, after he was sent out to a hospital, Joshua Fox finally started receiving treatment.
“He even said that he wished he hadn’t killed his dad,” Crystal Fox told I-Team reporter Erica Stapleton. “I told him that I forgave him. That it was his schizophrenia that killed his dad.”
On December 15, 2023, Joshua Fox was sentenced to prison after a plea deal. He was 23 years old.
Then, another tragedy.
On December 20, less than two days after he was booked into the state prison in Phoenix, Joshua Fox hung himself. He died a few days later at the hospital, just before Christmas.
“The mental health system is just a disaster in Arizona,” Crystal Fox said.
'Mad Moms' demand changes to close gaps in state mental health care
On Wednesday, a group of women called “Mad Moms” spoke before the Joint Legislative Psychiatric Hospital Review Council. The committee includes lawmakers, other health care leaders and members of the public. The director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, or ADCRRR, is part of the committee and can send a designee to meetings.
On Wednesday, the corrections department's mental health director was there as Crystal Fox described what happened to her son before he took his own life in prison.
A spokesperson with ADCRR's Media Relations team emailed the following statement after the I-Team asked about Joshua Fox's death:
The investigation is still ongoing, and the Department does not comment on active investigations. All inmate deaths are investigated in consultation with the county medical examiner's office.
All new inmates receive a mental health assessment screening upon intake at our Reception Centers.
For more information regarding your additional questions, we would refer you to ADCRR Department Order 807 found here and Department Order 811 found here.
Crystal Fox was not the only person to share her story about gaps in the system.
In all, the committee hearing lasted more than five hours, and those present said all the information that was shared barely scratched the surface.
Mothers, other family members, community advocates and public safety leaders shared concerns about the lack of long-term hospital beds for those with serious mental illness, a perceived lack of oversight for group homes and other care clinics, and a repeated pattern of releasing people from supervision directly to the streets, usually without medication or a treatment plan in place.
Many lawmakers currently sitting on the committee said they were new to some of these issues, but were committed to finding solutions. The Mad Moms group hopes to propose legislation in the upcoming legislative session.
“It should not be this hard,” Crystal Fox said.
You can learn more about the Joint Legislative Psychiatric Hospital Review Council on the state legislature's website.
Crystal Fox's community also set up a GoFundMe to help with expenses after her son's death.
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