Cooper girls will remain in Canada

Sister of slain Cary woman gets temporary custody of children, ages 4 and 2

For now, the daughters of Bradley and Nancy Cooper will live far from the Cary home in which they've grown and where police suspect their mother met her killer.

Custody of the girls -- 4-year-old Bella and 2-year-old Katie -- has been in question since July, days after their mother's strangled body was discovered in an unfinished subdivision near their Cary home.

On Wednesday, Wake County District Court Judge Debra Sasser granted another temporary custody order allowing the girls to live in Canada with their mother's twin, Krista, and her husband, Jim Lister.

The final order is incomplete, and specifics of the arrangement were unclear Wednesday. Bradley Cooper's attorney, Seth Blum, said the decision will allow Cooper to maintain contact with his daughters, though it will be limited.

"This is a very good day for Nancy, her children, and our entire family," said Cooper's parents, Garry and Donna Rentz, in a prepared statement. "We could not have asked for a more fair or deliberate process and are confident that [Sasser] acted in the best interest of not just our grandchildren but all children who may be in a similar circumstance."

Bradley Cooper's attorney Seth Blum said Wednesday's news was disappointing.

"He's anxious to have his daughters returned," Blum said.

The girls have been caught in a tug-of-war between relatives for months. Sasser listened to both sides' claims for the girls during an eight-hour hearing Oct. 16.

Since July, Bradley Cooper has been allowed to spend a portion of four days with his daughters and visit with them via weekly video conferences. He was fighting to have his daughters returned to his care.

Nancy Cooper's family is convinced Bradley Cooper killed his wife. One after another, the slain woman's family members and friends climbed into a witness stand last week and told the judge that Bradley Cooper was the only one with a motivation to kill her or access to do so.

No one has been arrested in Nancy Cooper's murder. For months, though, Cary police have scrutinized Bradley Cooper. They've collected saliva to capture his DNA. Police were so suspicious in the first week of the investigation that they asked a judge for permission to search his computers for signs that he might have researched how to dispose of a body.

Earlier this month, the Cary detective heading the investigation said in an affidavit filed for Nancy Cooper's family that Bradley Cooper had made inconsistent statements in his video deposition compared with interviews with police. He said he'd been uncooperative and inaccessible.

Earlier, Sasser blocked Bradley Cooper's request for Cary police to turn over their files so he could review the accusations.

"At this point, Brad feels like he's having to prove his innocence," said Blum. "We've been repeatedly denied the tools to do that."

Bradley Cooper never took the stand last week. Coming to his defense were a psychologist who said he's behaving normally for circumstances such as these, a stranger who swears she saw Nancy Cooper jogging the day she disappeared, and a friend who was supposed to play tennis with Bradley Cooper the day Nancy disappeared. His attorneys insisted there is no evidence to link him to his wife's killing.

Wednesday's decision is another temporary custody order and will lapse after a certain period of time. The judge did not strip Cooper of his parental rights but selected a living arrangement she thought would be in the best interest of Bella and Katie.

Cooper's attorneys could challenge Sasser's decision at the N.C. Court of Appeals. Blum said they'll await the final order before making that decision.