Who Killed Nancy Cooper?

In what is sure to be another high profile murder case, we have a dead mother of two, a husband who claims to be innocent, two motherless little girls, and a number of twists and turns that will probably take experts weeks to straighten out.

Nancy Cooper, an athletic stay at home mother who once had dreams of competing in the Olympics until a knee injury sidelined her, was 34 years old. She was first reported missing on July 12, 2008 by a friend some six to eight hours after she'd left to go jogging and didn't return. Her body was found in a construction site three miles from her home and quite a distance from her usual jogging route.

Brad Cooper, Nancy's husband was the last person to see her alive. He said she left the house at 7am to go jogging. The two had what was described as a challenging marriage. Nancy's family has accused Brad of having an extramarital affair and of being emotionally abusive. Nancy had alleged asked Brad to move out, but he refused. It is also alleged that Brad Cooper went out at 4am on July 13th to purchase bleach. This could be a key element to the case.

Nothing has been proven in court yet. As a matter of fact, Brad Cooper hasn't been named as a suspect yet, although the police search the couple's house and both of their cars, hauling out six bags of evidence. Brad Cooper also submitted DNA samples to compare with any evidence they might find. All the talk of abuse, affairs, whether Nancy even left the house that morning, and a challenging marriage have yet to be confirmed.

If anyone is interested in my opinion, and even if you're not, I'm going to give it. After following multiple stories of "challenging marriages, affairs, etc. etc., and husbands killing their wives, I'm going to say that I believe Brad Cooper did it. The old "My wife went out jogging and didn't come back" routine has been used over and over by guilty husbands trying to cover their tracks. Scott Peterson told authorities that his wife Lacy had gone out for a walk and never returned. She was eight months pregnant. Scott was later convicted of killing his wife. Or how about Mark Hacking? He shot his wife Lori to death and then told authorities that she went out for a jog and never returned. It just doesn't sound right to me.

It will be interesting to follow this case and see what the experts come up with. As of yet, the police haven't released the cause of Nancy's death. This too, will be key in the investigation.

In the meantime, Nancy's family has established a memorial fund in her name. Donations can be made to:

Nancy Cooper Memorial Fund
c/o RBC Bank
101 Advent Court
Cary, NC 27518