Wake County Clerk Of Court

Police: Boyfriend admits role in death

Authorities stopped short of saying Lopez and his friend, Alejandro Prada Sanchez, confessed to her killing. "I will tell you that they made statements that implicated them in the crime, but that's about all I will say," said Maj. Gary Blankenship, spokesman for the Chatham County Sheriff's Office. Lopez and Sanchez, 19, both of Apex, were indicted by a Chatham County grand jury Monday on charges of first-degree murder. The next court hearing is set for Oct. 24, said prosecutor Kayley Taber of the Chatham District Attorney's Office. Lopez told authorities that he and Sanchez took Perez-Godinez to the lake shore, according to an affidavit signed by Detective Sgt. Michael Garbarino of the Chatham County Sheriff's Office. Lopez said Sanchez helped to hold her legs as she was stabbed, according to the affidavit, and that the pair then threw her onto the shoreline. The affidavit does not indicate that Lopez named anyone else who might have been involved. After the stabbing, Lopez told investigators, he used his black chef's hat to wipe off the blood, according to the affidavit, which was filed as part of a search warrant application. The pair drove away in a 1999 Ford Explorer, the affidavit states. On Aug. 7, a day after Perez-Godinez's body was found, deputies searched the homes of Lopez and Sanchez for evidence, according to the search warrant. Authorities seized from Lopez's home a black hat, pants and shirts, part of Lopez's work uniform and a plastic bag containing a pink shirt and white bra, records show. From Sanchez's home they removed a brown knife sheath, ashes from a charcoal grill, one pair of cloth gloves with long black hair on them, a black and blue gym bag and a pellet gun, according to the seized property inventory. Chatham County officials think Lopez and Perez-Godinez may have gotten into an argument at Jordan Lake, but they declined to release the cause of the fight.

Cary News | Cooper defense cost $340000

RALEIGH - Brad Cooper has been in Central Prison since early May, when a jury found him guilty of killing his wife, Nancy, in their Cary neighborhood. His murder trial, one of Wake County's most protracted, exposed simmering domestic violence and social circles among the big houses of Cary, where neighbors would fall into duplicitous relationships or extramarital trysts after getting together for board-game nights, backyard barbecues or Halloween parties. "Dateline NBC," a TV newsmagazine, aired an hourlong segment Friday on the case. "The story appealed to 'Dateline' on many levels" said Esther Zucker, a producer for the show. "It was a tragic human interest story of Nancy and Brad Cooper; what began as a seemingly ideal marriage, their promising future and how it all sadly fell apart. The story also shined a light on domestic violence and in this case, we see that the symptoms aren't always physical abuse - emotional abuse is equally destructive." The show said the case exposes "secrets in suburban paradise." The conviction of Cooper on May 5 marked the end of the longest murder trial that District Attorney Colon Willoughby could recall that did not carry the possibility of the death penalty. It also was one of the most costly cases for several parts of the justice system. Indigent Defense Services, formed by the state to oversee and ensure legal representation for those who cannot otherwise afford it, paid $340,507 in expenses and fees to Howard Kurtz and Robert Trenkle, the two lawyers appointed to the case. Of that total, $233,116 went to Kurtz, who was paid for 2,429 of the 2,921 hours he billed for during his three years on the case. Thomas Maher, head of Indigent Defense Services, said the money spent on the Cooper defense was among the most he remembered, particularly for a case where prosecutors were not pursuing the death penalty. A recent study of capital cases showed that only 1 percent of the cases cost more than $200,000 for Indigent Defense.

Of mice and men

The tragic story of the friendship between two migrant workers, George and mentally retarded Lenny, and their dream of owning a farm

Three cups of tea, one man's mission to fight terrorism and build nations-- one school at a time

Traces how the author, having been rescued and resuscitated by Himalayan villagers after a failed attempt to climb K2, worked to build schools that would ...

Art of War

While appreciative of the philosophical richness of the Art of War, this edition stresses Sun-tzu's practical origins and presents a translation that is both ...

The elements of style

Offers advice on improving writing skills and promoting a style marked by simplicity, orderliness, and sincerity.

In defense of food, an eater's manifesto [additional copies -- 2]

Cites the reasons why people have become so confused about their dietary choices and discusses the importance of enjoyable moderate eating of mostly traditional ...