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More warrants in Nancy Cooper murder 7.29

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« on: July 30, 2008, 01:38:57 pm »

More warrants in Nancy Cooper murder
Tuesday, July 29, 2008 | 9:07 PM
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6294423

By Ed Crump

CARY (WTVD) -- More search warrants have been served in the murder case of Nancy Cooper, including one for her husband's office at Cisco systems in RTP.

The warrants are sealed and they do not say much in writing. But one legal expert says they speak "volumes" about where the case is headed.

The seal orders only show the address that's been searched and that the warrants have been sealed to protect the investigation and the right of a defendant to a fair trial.

When Cary Police searched Nancy Cooper's home and cars, and when they said publicly the search warrant also allowed them to get DNA from Nancy Cooper's husband --speculation rose.

 But the search of the house and DNA warrant did not do much for Defense Attorney Karl Knudsen.

"It simply is a process by which a person can be included or excluded. So that doesn't necessarily say anything," Knudsen said.

But he says the seal order for a search warrant at Cisco systems says a lot.

Sources tell Eyewitness News the address listed on the seal order --a specific office in building 9 at 71 Kit Creek Road --is Brad Cooper's office.

That search took place out of the public eye and Knudsen says it means more than the earlier search.

"In order to even acquire a warrant to search a separate place connected to an individual there has to be probable cause for a judge to believe that that individual was connected with the commission of an offense and evidence would be found there," he said.

Knudsen, a former prosecutor and longtime defense attorney, suspects one of the things the search at Cisco concentrated on was Cooper's computers. Exactly what, if anything was turned up on Cooper is sealed up in the search warrant.

"It's pretty clear now that he's a suspect. Not just a person of interest, but a suspect," Knudsen said.

Also a third warrant has been issued in the case. And the order sealing it does not describe where or who it was for, only that it regards the Nancy Cooper homicide investigation.

"Since we have no clue what place got searched or what they were looking for, this doesn't tell either the general public or either the suspect where the investigation is going or where it is likely to lead," Knudsen said.

Cary Police continue to say they do not have a person of interest or a suspect in the case.

Brad Cooper's attorneys say he has told police he didn't kill his wife and he has been charged with nothing.

A hearing on unsealing the search warrant in the case will be held Thursday.

(Copyright ©2008 WTVD-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2008, 09:47:27 am »

http://news14.com/content/local_news/triangle/597882/cooper-warrants-could-be-unsealed/Default.aspx

 Cooper warrants could be unsealed
07/31/2008 08:35 AM
By: Ilin Chen

RALEIGH -- Several news media outlets are seeking more information in the murder of a Cary woman. The News & Observer and Capitol Broadcasting want the search warrants unsealed in the Nancy Cooper case.

Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens will listen to arguments Thursday afternoon about whether or not to unseal search warrants that deal with the investigation into Cooper's death. Stephens had previously decided to keep the contents private.

The documents deal with evidence collected at the Cary home of Brad and Nancy Cooper. Brad Cooper was also asked to submit DNA samples. More recent warrants gave investigators access to Brad Cooper's work place, Cisco Systems in Morrisville, N.C.

Judge Stephens ordered the search warrants sealed because he decided that the information contained in them could hurt the investigation and the state's right to prosecute someone if they were made public.

Another reason given is that the information could jeopardize a defendant's chance to have a fair trial. Search warrants usually have to explain probable cause, which is basically what police believe happened.

So far in this case, authorities have not released many details about their investigation, nor have they named a suspect or a person of interest.

The warrants were ordered to be sealed for 30 days, but the outcome of Thursday's hearing could change that.
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« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2008, 01:02:31 am »

Judge Denies Request to Unseal Search Warrants in Nancy Cooper Murder Case

Thursday, July 31, 2008

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,395543,00.html

 A Superior Court judge denied the request by two media outlets that search warrants be unsealed in the murder case of North Carolina jogger and mother of two Nancy Cooper.

Lawyers for Capitol Broadcasting Co., the parent company of FOX affiliate WRAL News in Raleigh, N.C., and The News & Observer Publishing Co. argued before Superior Court Judge Donald W. Stephens why they want the warrants made public.

The outlets requested the hearing earlier this week.

Stephens said in his order called the release of the information premature and would "likely risk and jeopardize the success of the investigation," WRAL reported.

Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby was fighting against the motion on the grounds that it "could, and most likely would, impede the ability of officials to professionally conduct the investigation and properly prosecute any offender against whom charges were warrant," according to WRAL.

Nancy Cooper, 34, was killed earlier this month, her scantily clad body found in a cul-de-sac near her Cary, N.C., home. She disappeared on July 12, when her husband said she'd gone jogging. Her body was found by a man walking his dog two days later.

Police typically elaborate on why they want to comb a certain location in a search warrant and sometimes describe what they think might have befallen the victim.

Authorities executed such warrants for the house and two vehicles belonging to Nancy Cooper and her 34-year-old husband, Brad Cooper. They also took DNA samples from Brad Cooper.

Police have not named a suspect or person of interest in the young woman's killing. She and Brad Cooper had reportedly been on the brink of separation.

Three warrants are at issue: the July 16 search of the Coopers' house and vehicles along with the DNA sample taken from Brad Cooper, the July 21 search of Brad Cooper's office at Cisco Systems Inc. in the Research Triangle Park campus, and a July 25 search of an unspecified location, WRAL reported.

The warrants will be unsealed 30 days from the date they were returned — or about mid- to late-August — should Stephens side with the media outlets, according to the TV station. But prosecutors will have the option to request that they be sealed for another 30 days.

Last week, Nancy Cooper's Canadian parents and twin sister reached an agreement with her husband allowing them to keep custody of the couple's two children for 75 days, until Oct. 13, when the custody arrangement will again be considered.

The deal came just before a District Court judge was to hear testimony in the bitter custody battle over 4-year-old Bella and 2-year-old Katie.

Brad Cooper and Nancy's parents agreed to place Web cameras inside their houses and promised not to discuss the murder or insult each other in front of the girls.

Lawyers for Brad Cooper accused Nancy Cooper of having an extramarital affair and her family of implicating him in her murder. They asked that the autopsy findings be released.

Nancy Cooper's family attorney filed several affidavits late Wednesday containing statements from friends and neighbors claiming Brad Cooper was emotionally abusive, controlling, absent and socially awkward.

They also accused him of having several extramarital affairs.

Police have indicated they believe the crime was isolated. They say Brad Cooper has been cooperative in the investigation.
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