Lawyer Seth Blum said he and lawyer Howard Kurtz called the gathering because of wild speculation about the slaying of Nancy Cooper, whose body was found Monday in a subdivision under development in Cary.

"The bizarre and unsupported theories floating around television and the Internet have made it impossible for us to sit quietly and to say nothing," Blum said. He did not discuss the theories, saying that could jeopardize the investigation.

However, he said that Brad Cooper "is not a suspect, not a person of interest, and he has been very, very clear with the police: He did not kill his wife."

Cary Police Chief Pat Bazemore has said that the murder was not random and was an isolated incident. Blum acknowledged that this description of the crime has "a clear negative implication."

He described Cooper, who did not attend the news conference, as "a very private man" and asked reporters to respect his privacy.

"He's not accustomed to the hot glare of the media spotlight," Blum said. "Brad Cooper is also a man in mourning. He has lost his wife. He is grieving. Different people grieve in different ways. Mr. Cooper wishes to mourn privately. He does not want to do it at press conferences."

Nancy Cooper's Canadian family obtained a court order this week granting them emergency custody of the couple's daughters, ages 4 and almost 2. In a petition seeking custody, the family described the couple's troubled marriage and claimed that Cooper posed a threat to the children's safety.

Asked about the custody issue, Blum said, "Mr. Cooper loves his daughters. They are two little girls who have done nothing to deserve what they are going through... Like any good father, he wants to shield them from all horrors, and this is clearly a horrible, horrible thing."

Nancy Cooper's family said that months before her death, she wanted to go home to Canada but her husband hid the passports of their U.S.-born daughters, essentially trapping her.

At a news conference this morning, Nancy Cooper's father, Garry Rentz, of Edmonton, Alberta, said that he had been in close touch with his daughter before her death.

"I knew what was going on in detail," he said. "Nancy and I had a very open relationship, and I knew every detail of what was going on."

He said he had not worried about his daughter. But his wife, Donna Rentz said, "I was worried."

Garry Rrentz also called for his daughter's killer to come forward.

"I think this is an act of extreme cowardice by whoever did this, and I think if they had a shred of decency in their body they would come forward and acknowledge their guilt," Rentz said.

"There can never be a rationale for taking the life of another. I think that if the pain that has been inflicted by this senseless act can be brought to an end, the only way to do it would be for the person to have the spine to come forward."

Donna Rentz, then spoke in tears. "I would like to know why..." she said, her voice choking.

A community celebration of Nancy Cooper's life will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Koka Booth Amphitheatre, 8003 Regency Parkway. The memorial service is open to the public.