Woman found shot dead in latest in series of suburban Atlanta homicides
The body of Laura Cooley was found along a walking path in DeKalb County and her slaying follows two other unsolved homicides, although police do not yet believe they are connected
An Atlanta-area woman’s body has been found along a walking path in DeKalb County — making this the third gruesome discovery in the last three weeks.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on December 23rd, the body of 59-year-old Laura Cooley was found lying face-down in the residential area. Her family later confirmed to local Channel 2 Action News that she had been fatally shot.
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“I was in shock,” said her brother, Wes Cooley after explaining that Laura had left the home she shared with their mother on December 20th and never returned. Saturday he received a call from the county coroner’s office confirming his worst fears.
“I go down and see her and it was her,” he recalled.
“We just want to have closure. We want to get this perpetrator off the street,” he continued. “Christmas Eve, my sister was laying on the street, dead. We did not enjoy Christmas. We did not have dinner because we were out here looking for our sister.”
Although the coincidence of yet another body being found in that area has sparked speculations, investigators believe the woman’s murder is an isolated incident and not connected to the other two cases.
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On December 12th the body of Shantrelle Monroe was found by hikers on a walking trail. Police believe the woman was shot on the trail, but have yet to determine a motive or any suspects.
Then on Dec. 31, a jogger found a still unidentified woman’s body lying next to a path at Glen Emerald Park. She too had been shot in the park and is believed to have been deceased for at least five hours before her body was discovered.
As Atlanta police continue their manhunt Wes Cooley has made a public plea to his sister’s attacker.
“Just come forward. If you are a man, be a man. I do not think you had to shoot her like that,” Cooley said.
“She’s two years older than me. Growing up with her, we had our fun. We are going to miss her, really going to miss her. It is just hard to explain,” he concluded.
