Cooper custody documents become public

Brad Cooper won't be able to see his young daughters as long as he remains behind bars on a charge that he killed their mother.

The terms of a custody order issued last month finally became public this morning after a Wake County judge denied Cooper's attorney's request to keep the document secret. His attorney feared release of the order could rob Cooper of a fair trial.

Wake County District Court Judge Debra Sasser said she'll trust the higher criminal courts to take measures that safeguard Cooper's right to an impartial jury.

Cooper's daughters — 4-year-old Bella and 2-year-old Katie — have been living in Canada with Nancy Cooper's family since her death in July.

Sasser determined that's the best place for the children to remain. She's also blocked physical visits and webcam communication between the girls and their father since he's been in jail.

They can talk on the telephone, as much as Wake County jailers allow. But, any cards or letters he sends that raise flags for Nancy's family must be screened by the girls' therapist in Canada. Brad Cooper will be allowed to receive monthly photographs of the girls.

After a volatile day of hearings in October, Sasser determined in her custody order that Brad Cooper had offered inconsistent statements about the family's finances. She also wrote in the order that his statements about cleaning the family's house while Nancy was away on a trip in June were not "credible."

Sasser acknowledged in the order Brad Cooper was in a tough spot. His wife had been murdered and his daughters had been taken from him, but he had not been arrested for the crime at that time. His wife's family, however, believed he killed Nancy.

Since then, Cary police charged him with the murder.

Despite knowing that his wife's family thought he was the killer, Sasser wrote in her order that he had not tried to communicate with them since Nancy Cooper died.

But Sasser determined that Brad Cooper didn't fully understand how the stress he was under could affect his daughters.

"Brad Cooper does not seem to appreciate the potential negative effects on the children of having to live in a household filled with stress and the disruptions caused by a contentious custody battle and an ongoing criminal investigation," Sasser wrote in her order.

Since July, Nancy Cooper's family mounted a contentious custody battle against Brad Cooper, insisting he was emotionally controlling and neglectful of the girls by depriving Nancy Cooper enough funds to buy their groceries.

Sasser, in her order, determined Brad Cooper had been controlling toward Nancy Cooper and had said things to make himself sound superior to her.

During the custody hearing, Brad Cooper's attorneys offered a witness, Rosemary Zednick, who swears she saw Nancy Cooper jogging the morning of July 12, the day she vanished.

Sasser dismissed Zednick's testimony, saying that it was "not convincing."

Sasser noted that in none of the affidavits from Brad Cooper does he deny "having a role in his wife's death."

In the order, Sasser did note the bond between Brad Cooper and his daughters.

"Brad Cooper loves his children and the children love him," she noted.