Inset: Corey Cook (Iredell County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The wreckage left of the Cook family home in Troutman, N.C. (Google Maps).
A North Carolina man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for brutally murdering his entire family and burning their house down.
On Tuesday, Corey Alexander Cook, 26, pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his father, 60-year-old Johnny Bryan Cook, his mother, 51-year-old Angela Duncan Cook and his brother, 27-year-old Lawrence Thomas Cook. He also pleaded guilty to one count of arson and 17 counts of identity theft.
In quick succession, the defendant was sentenced by Iredell County Superior Court Judge Michael Duncan to between 75 and 81 years in prison for the combined murder convictions. In the event those sentences are served in full, Cook will then have to serve an additional 64 to 98 months in prison for the arson conviction.
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The underlying incident occurred in July 2021 at a residence on Loram Drive in Troutman, a small town some 35 miles north of Charlotte.
On the day in question, the Cook family home burned down to ash and support beams, according to Charlotte-based CBS affiliate WBTV.
Amid the rubble, the bodies of the three victims were found.
Each victim was shot and had their throat cut, according to pretrial testimony in the case, the Iredell Free News reports.
The 911 caller who reported the incident said the defendant traveled to her residence driving his mother’s car, calling the situation “unusual.”
Cook, for his part, told the woman there was a “domestic dispute” at his house, police said. The defendant initially stuck by this narrative of events, telling investigators that his mother had told him to leave and that his father stood in the doorway brandishing a gun while Cook drove away.
As the investigation progressed, law enforcement realized that someone had been repeatedly using the victims’ credit cards. Over time, authorities determined Cook was the one behind those purchases.
During the ensuing financial crimes investigation, Cook admitted to using the cards, according to law enforcement.
Those funds were spent to purchase gift cards to pay off someone online who was said to be extorting the killer, according to the Free News.
The defendant eventually confessed to being responsible for the slayings and the fire.
“This agency has worked on this investigation since the night of the fire,” Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the families of these victims, and we hope closure can now begin soon.”
Had the case gone to trial, prosecutors indicated they intended to seek the death penalty, the newspaper reported.
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