'Maybe Husband Has Done Something'
July 22, 2008 — -- The best friend of murdered North Carolina jogger Nancy Cooper told authorities that she was concerned Cooper's husband may have played a role in her disappearance, according to 911 tapes released today by Cary, N.C., police.
Jessica Adams called police just before 2 p.m. on the afternoon of July 12 to report Nancy Cooper missing after her friend failed to show up at her house.
"Her husband and her are in the middle of a divorce," Adams told the 911 dispatcher. "She supposedly went out for a run at 7 a.m. and nobody has heard from her."
"Because of the situation with the divorce I was wondering if you could help," Adams is heard saying on the tape.
Adams told authorities that Cooper's husband, Brad Cooper, had told her that his wife had gone for a run with a friend but had never come home.
"Maybe her husband has done something," said Adams. "God forbid."
When asked by the dispatcher if Cooper had ever been violent with his wife, Adams said she wasn't sure but there was quite a bit of "tension" in their relationship.
Breaking into tears, Adams added, "I wouldn't be surprised, I hate to say it."
Just two days later, another 911 call was received by authorities, this time from a man who had spotted a body while walking his dog just miles from where the Coopers lived.
When asked by the dispatcher whether the body was "beyond help," the male caller responded, "I think she's dead."
"The reason I noticed [the body] is all the vultures around it," the caller, who was not identified, added.
Brad Cooper's attorney released a statement to local media following the release of the 911 tapes, according to North Carolina's News & Observer.
"Cases must be decided on evidence, not insinuation," lawyers Howard Kurtz and Seth Blum said in the statement, according to the paper. "Selectively releasing prejudicial information in this fashion is reckless, misleading and just plain wrong."
Last week, Cooper's attorneys defended his innocence in a press conference, asserting that the grieving father of two "did not kill his wife."
