Cox died in a bicycle accident, colliding with a large redwood tree after falling off a cliff on Tunitas Creek road, in the mountains Northwest of Stanford University. The San Mateo County coroner concluded that Cox's death was a suicide. Cox was normally very safety conscious and had exceptionally not worn a helmet on that day. Cox's death came five days after he learned he was going to be charged with child molestation. Cox allegedly had repeatedly molested the son of one of his graduate students. Cox had told the father of the molested child that he would kill himself if the allegations were reported to the police.