Cooper girls' custody judge to weigh who killed mother

RALEIGH -- For the sake of two little girls' futures, a Wake County District Court judge will have to wade into unfamiliar territory: Did their daddy kill their mommy?

The question is bubbling to the surface in a custody battle over Bella and Katie Cooper, daughters of Nancy Cooper, a 34-year-old Cary woman found dead in an unbuilt subdivision near her home this summer.

It's been two-and-a-half months since Nancy Cooper's death. Police have made no arrests, though their investigation has centered, by and large, on her husband, Bradley Cooper, a Research Triangle Park executive. Days after her death, Cary police were suspicious enough of Bradley Cooper that they sought permission to scour his computers to see whether he researched how to dispose of a body, according to search warrants.

An autopsy report released Monday by the state medical examiner's office indicated Nancy Cooper died of strangulation. Medical examiners found a faint mark near her throat. The autopsy report said death was due to "homicidal violence."

Medical examiners also performed a sexual assault evidence kit. The report did not indicate whether they found evidence of sexual assault. Nancy Cooper was unclothed, save for an elastic, halter-style athletic bra when police discovered her remains on July 14, two days after she disappeared, the autopsy report said.

Bradley Cooper, through his lawyers, has sworn he had no part in his wife's death. Earlier this month, his attorneys, Howard Kurtz and Seth Blum, proclaimed his innocence on their Web site and begged potential witnesses to help them catch Nancy Cooper's killer.

On Monday, Wake County District Court Judge Debra Sasser said, "I am not going to avoid the elephant in the room: Did Brad Cooper kill his wife?"

"That's what I have to determine in this custody case if no one is charged and convicted in Nancy Cooper's death before the custody hearing."

Next month, Sasser will rule on who should be taking care of the girls.

Days after Nancy Cooper's death, Sasser granted her family emergency custody. Bradley Cooper agreed to let his former in-laws take the girls to their home in Canada until October, when he can appeal to the judge to return his daughters.

Garry and Donna Rentz, Nancy Cooper's parents, brought the girls to Wake County this weekend for the second of two face-to-face visits with their father since they were taken from him in July.

Sasser will be asked in October to devise another temporary custody plan for the girls. She will have to review testimony alleging that Bradley Cooper mentally abused his wife and withheld grocery money for the girls. Cooper's allies will portray him as a loving father who pitched in at home.

"Mr. Cooper's very anxious to have his children back in his home," said Deborah Sandlin, who is representing Bradley Cooper in the custody matter.

Sasser tried Monday to settle some pending legal questions before the custody hearing set for Oct. 16.

She ruled that Bradley Cooper must submit to a mental probe by a psychologist selected by lawyers for Nancy Cooper's family. He already has been evaluated by a psychologist hired by his own attorneys and questioned for more than eight hours about his dealings with his wife's death, his mental health history and any risk he might pose to his daughters.

Cary Police Chief Pat Bazemore would not comment on the autopsy report.