Police searched Cooper's computer

His behavior drew early police notice

Police investigating Nancy Cooper's disappearance and death found her husband's words and actions so suspicious they asked to search his computers for instructions on how to kill someone and dispose of the body.

Search warrants in the case -- and supporting evidence officers used to request them -- were released Tuesday after being under seal for weeks.

In the documents, police describe Brad Cooper's uncharacteristic cleaning of the house while his wife was missing; unexplained scratches on his neck; and the discovery of Nancy Cooper's keys and cell phone in the house, when those who knew her said she kept them with her always.

Brad Cooper's attorneys say the revelations don't point to his guilt.

Nancy Cooper was last seen at her home July 12, when her husband said she went for a morning run. The friend with whom Brad Cooper said his wife was to run has said they did not go.

Nancy Cooper's body was found at a construction site July 14. No one has been charged in her killing.

The documents released Tuesday show police found inconsistencies in Brad Cooper's statements as they tried to find out what happened to his wife. Nancy Cooper had begun divorce proceedings in part because of an affair he had admitted. The couple had been unable to agree on custody arrangements for their two young children; Nancy Cooper wanted to take the girls back to her native Canada, but Brad Cooper didn't want the children to leave the country.

Brad Cooper had removed his wife's name from their financial accounts and was giving her a household allowance.

Cooper's attorneys, Howard Kurtz and Seth Blum, said in a statement Tuesday that the warrants represented where the investigation stood six weeks ago and revealed no new developments. "Had substantial, credible evidence pointed to Brad Cooper, he would be in custody," they said.

Cary Police Chief Pat Bazemore likewise cautioned against reading too much into the documents.

"When the details of search warrants do become public, everyone must remember that investigations are as much about ruling things out as ruling things in and that it's the evidence that comes from a search warrant -- not the warrant itself -- that makes a difference in a case," the statement said.

The town also released a statement from Garry Rentz, Nancy Cooper's father.

"Donna [his wife] and I have spoken with our family today on the eve of the first release of information in this case in several weeks," Rentz said. "Our family continues to have great confidence in the Cary Police Department and applaud their efforts on behalf of one of us."

Money squabble

The affidavits said that the day before Nancy Cooper disappeared, the Coopers argued over money she had been paid for helping to paint a friend's house.

About 4 a.m. Saturday, Cooper later told police, he and his wife were awakened by their 2-year-old daughter. Cooper said he made two trips to the store, to buy milk and laundry detergent, and then took the child into his home office. He said his wife later asked where her running shirt was and said she was going for a run. He said he heard the door open and close and assumed that's where she had gone.

When she did not return by 12:30 p.m., he told officers, he drove around looking for her.

A friend she was supposed to meet that morning reported Nancy Cooper missing later that day.

Police who came to the house found Brad Cooper had been busy cleaning. Cooper told detectives he had been scrubbing the house while waiting for his wife to return from her run. She had come home from a vacation with her family the week before, he said, and been upset to find a dirty house.