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Brad Cooper is facing the possibility of the death penalty in North Carolina


Brad Cooper is facing the possibility of the death penalty in North Carolina after being arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of his wife, former Edmontonian Nancy Cooper.Brad Cooper was indicted on the murder charge and arrested today, said Chief Pat Bazemore, police chief in Cary, N.C., where the Coopers lived.
"The defendant named above unlawfully, willfully and feloniously and of malice afterthought did kill and murder Nancy Cooper," the indictment reads.The charge carries a possibility of life in prison without parole, or the death penalty, Bazemore said.The state of North Carolina only executes prisoners by lethal injection. No one has been executed in the state since 2006, when four prisoners were put to death.Nancy Cooper's father, Garry Rentz, spoke during a press conference from his Edmonton home this evening.Rentz expressed his thanks to all the people who "helped us, led us and supported us during the most complex 108 days of our history."Nancy's memory has been kept alive by a family who loved her and incredible friends who were always there for her and our family."Rentz also thanked the detectives on his daughter's case for a "tireless and thorough" investigation.
Cooper, 34, was found dead in a ditch at a construction site near her home in Cary on July 14. Two days earlier, she had been reported missing after she vanished while out for a jog.An autopsy report concluded she had likely been strangled.The couple has two daughters. Temporary custody of them was awarded to Nancy Cooper's family last week.During the custody hearing, their lawyer argued that Brad Cooper is an unfit father who is mentally unstable and was emotionally abusive to his wife, and financially controlled her.As the custody hearing progressed, Nancy Cooper's family and friends stated they believed Brad was the only one with motivation to kill his wife.Brad Cooper had been fighting for custody of his daughters.Brad Cooper, also from Alberta, has stated he played no role in his wife's death. He was never named an official suspect during the three-month investigation.The Coopers moved to Cary, a suburb of Raleigh, eight years ago so Brad could start a new job.
Search warrants revealed that investigators found hair in the trunk and front bumper of the family's BMW. Brad Cooper told police he had recently cleaned a gasoline spill in the trunk, which officers could not detect.Officers also found that Brad Cooper had vigorously cleaned the family house the day his wife disappeared, which police were told was out of character for him.Brad Cooper also had "red marks or scratches" on his neck that he could not explain.According to a police affidavit, the couple had planned to separate and had an argument a week before Nancy Cooper's disappearance.
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