Days after the manager of the Flying Biscuit Cafe was found dead behind a south Charlotte Dumpster, Mecklenburg prosecutors announced Wednesday they will charge Mark Anthony Cox with the murder of Danielle Watson's unborn baby.

It could be the first time state prosecutors have sought an indictment for murder involving an unborn baby. Under a state law that went into effect last month, anyone accused of killing a pregnant woman could face two murder charges: one for the woman, the other for her fetus.

Cox, a 22-year-old convicted felon, made his first appearance in a Mecklenburg County courtroom on Wednesday after being arrested in Fayetteville on Monday.

Assistant District Attorney Bill Stetzer told the Observer prosecutors will seek indictments charging Cox with the murders of Watson and her unborn baby.

Police already have charged Cox with murder and two counts of armed robbery in connection with Watson's death, but prosecutors have not sought indictments on those charges yet. A grand jury must indict defendants in felonies, even if they've already been charged.

Stetzer, who heads the DA's team of homicide prosecutors, would not say how far along Watson was in her pregnancy when she was killed.

N.C. Rep. Dale Folwell, a Winston-Salem Republican, said the announcement that prosecutors will charge Cox with murdering an unborn baby represents a bittersweet victory for legislation that took decades to emerge from committee.

"Obviously, the sponsors of this legislation, including myself, never hoped this day would come," Folwell said. "But we are glad that for the first time North Carolina has joined a lot of the rest of the country to have this tool in the toolbox for district attorneys."

Folwell said he believed Wednesday's announcement by Mecklenburg prosecutors marks the first time a charge will be sought for the killing of an unborn baby in North Carolina, although his office is waiting for that confirmation from the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts in Raleigh.

On Wednesday afternoon, Cox's court appearance lasted less than a minute. He stood in an orange Mecklenburg jail uniform with his arms shackled in front of him.

He didn't react when District Judge Karen Eady-Williams told him he had been charged with murder.

He spoke six words during the hearing. "I'll have an appointed attorney, ma'am," he said.

Watson's body was found Saturday morning by a garbage truck driver who was emptying trash at the Chick-fil-A in the StoneCrest at Piper Glen shopping center off Rea Road. He flagged down police who had been dispatched to the shopping center after receiving a call about a possible larceny at the nearby Flying Biscuit Cafe.

Watson's fiance had called 911 hours earlier to report a possible robbery at the restaurant, but an officer responding to the call was dispatched to an incorrect business and address.

Police said on Monday that they are reviewing parts of their 911 dispatching system. The dispatcher involved in the call from Watson's fiance has been placed on administrative leave.

"Dispatchers are trained to confirm the addresses before sending the call on to dispatch, however, it is not part of our policy," CMPD spokesman Rob Tufano said in an emailed response to a series of questions from the Observer. "This will be addressed immediately."

The officer who was dispatched to the wrong address tried unsuccessfully to get back in touch with Watson's fiance, Tufano said.

Cox was arrested in Fayetteville, where authorities said he was staying with an associate. Watson's car was found nearby.

Cox was released from prison in November, after serving time for robbery and breaking and entering convictions, according to N.C. Department of Correction records. He was immediately placed on post-release supervision for a nine-month period.

On its Facebook page, the Flying Biscuit said it had reopened its Rea Road restaurant "in an effort to bring our community together to remember Danielle." It encouraged people to donate to the Danielle Watson Memorial Fund and announced plans to create a permanent memorial to Watson at the restaurant. The restaurant will be closed on Saturday - the same day that Watson will be buried.

Staff writer Meghan Cooke contributed.