TN - Sherry Cooper, 36, murdered at her Johnson City home, 7 May 2009

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http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9013774

Johnson City police say teenager killed mother, sexually abused corpse

By NET News Service

Published May 11th, 2009 |

JOHNSON CITY — A 17-year-old boy accused of killing his mother last week intentionally strangled her to death and sexually abused her corpse before dumping her body in a trash can, according to a juvenile court document released Monday.

Johnson City Juvenile Court Judge Sharon Green ordered Codey Wayne Miller, 17, held at the Upper East Tennessee Juvenile Detention Center pending a June 5 status hearing, when she will hear motions in the case including prosecutors’ request to transfer the teenager to adult criminal court for trial.

Miller is charged with first-degree murder, felony murder and abuse of a corpse in the death of his mother, Sherry R. Cooper, 36, at her Lake Terrace housing development apartment on Thursday.

Assistant Public Defender Ivan Lilly, appointed to represent Miller, waived the teen’s detention hearing after telling Green that details from the homicide had not been released to news media or Miller’s family.

State law allows juvenile judges to grant media access to juvenile hearings on some cases, including murder, and Green granted a request. She also released documents that are public record in the case due to the charges involved. Most juvenile records are sealed by state law.

Christopher A. Johnson, 36, 1355 Breedlove Ave., Memphis, is also charged along with Miller. He’s being held on charges of felony murder and abuse of a corpse. Washington County Sessions Judge Robert Lincoln arraigned Johnson by video Monday morning and appointed attorney Jim Lonon to represent him.

If convicted as an adult, Miller faces life in prison, as would Johnson. If his case remains in juvenile court and his case is handled there, Miller could only be held in custody until he is 19 years old.

Johnson is accused of watching Miller kill Cooper sometime on Thursday. According to a court affidavit, Johnson did not intervene in the killing or contact authorities after it happened.

Police also wrote in the court document that Johnson retrieved a trash can from outside the residence and “instructed the juvenile to place the victim’s body inside the trash can.”

One or both of them put the can back outside, according to police, but Cooper’s body was not discovered until around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

When police responded to 2472 Mint Hill Road about 1:30 a.m. Saturday on a death investigation, Tony Hyder was sitting over top of Cooper’s body in the side yard of the apartment building crying, according to the police report. Hyder, 58, 446 S. Broadway St., was apparently Cooper’s boyfriend.

Investigators remained silent Monday about details of the killing, including what prompted them to charge Miller and Johnson with felony murder. Felony murder requires that the killing occurred during the commission of one of a list of specific crimes that include acts of terrorism, arson, rape, robbery, burglary, theft, kidnapping, aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect, aircraft piracy or discharging a bomb.

“We’re not releasing that until we get the autopsy back,” said Johnson City Police Department Lt. Steve Sherfey. He did confirm that Cooper suffered no trauma, no knife wounds and no gunshot wounds.

“The autopsy has not been done. They should be doing that (Tuesday),” he said.

An investigator in the case will likely be present for that procedure, Sherfey said.

District Attorney General Tony Clark said earlier in the day that he planned to petition Johnson City Juvenile Court to transfer the boy to adult court for trial, and Assistant District Attorney General Kelly McCoy told Green the state will file that motion.
Johnson remains jailed on a $150,000 bond.

 
Angry kid. You can see this defense coming from a mile away-the 36 year old was a Svengali.

Praying the poor victim was unconscious before she knew what was happening and how it went down...
 
http://www.tricities.com/tri/news/l..._body_found_in_red_plastic_garbage_can/23994/


More information. He was driving the victims car.



Johnson City, Tenn.—Investigators at the Johnson City Police Department took Sunday off—after wrapping up a 19-hour shift. Their case is the kind of case you don’t want to hear about near the Mother’s Day holiday


Police found a 36-year-old mother, Sherry Cooper, dead outside her home on 2472 Mint Hill Road early Saturday Morning.


“They had found her in the garbage can,“ said neighbor Margaret Trivett.


Police arrested two suspects—a teenager (11 Connects News will not release his name or age because he is a juvenile), and 36-year-old Christopher Johnson.


They arrested the juvenile at the crime scene Saturday morning, charged him with first degree murder, felony murder, and abuse of a corpse. He was transported to the Johnson City Juvenile Detention Facility and processed by 12:00 p.m.


They located Johnson with help from the public, and by following some clues he left behind.


“The car belonged to the victim, and he was driving it earlier in the day, and then abandoned it at a location in town,“ said Lt. Rick Stevens.


Police arrested Johnson at 500 Robinson Drive around 6:00 p.m.



Tiffany Miller was inside her house when investigators came knocking. “{They} told him to come outside, to get on the ground, and put his hands behind his back. Then they arrested him,“ she said.


Washington County Detention Center booked Johnson at 9:13 p.m.


They charged him with felony murder and abuse of a corpse. Officials set his bond at $150,000 and scheduled his arraignment for 9:00 a.m. Monday May 11th.


The legal definition of felony murder: If a death occurs during a felony, it is considered to be first-degree murder. All of the felony’s participants can be charged and found guilty of murder. For example: if a robbery involves more than one criminal and one of them kills a clerk, all of the participants can be found guilty of murder even if they didn’t have a gun or intend to hurt anyone (Source: The Legal Dictionary).


Miller said police were looking for stolen goods among Johnson’s possessions.



“There were supposed to be some movies, a radio and a computer stolen from her house and they couldn’t find anything,“ she said.


Johnson has a criminal record, according to the Memphis Police Department.
Officer Stephen Roach said most of his offenses are vehicle related. “He was on probation for burglary in 1991, but the official charges were listed as criminal trespass,“ Roach said. “That probation has been lifted.“


Currently, Johnson has three minor but outstanding arrest warrants in Memphis—driving on a suspended license, failure to appear in court, and failure to pay child support.
 
The 36 yr old had just moved to that town 3-4 weeks ago. I wonder how he met the 17 yr old and what they had in common besides murder? He is more the mom's age.

The older guy doesn't seem like a real bad guy according to his MySpace. There isn't anything that would make me believe he was way out there somewhere. He had a lot of hopes and dreams and now none of them will be realized.

The boy...try him as an adult. He doesn't deserve to get out of jail in two years. I wonder what the motive was or was it just for the heck of it! How could anyone have sex with their mother much less your dead mother. Sick.

The mom is an attractive young gal. I didn't look at the pics of her friends but I did notice that on the one page all of the pics are of her and not one of her son. I thought that was kind of odd. She looks like a nice woman.

I'm so sick of hearing about kids that murder their parent/parents. It seems to happen so often now days and for no good reason. The mom was only 36 yrs old....so young.
 
When I looked at the photos on the myspace for Christopher Johnson, the other man charged, it was interesting to notice a picture of her son on HIS page. Weird. There is a lot of talk going around that this story is going to get even stranger as more is released.
 
When I looked at the photos on the myspace for Christopher Johnson, the other man charged, it was interesting to notice a picture of her son on HIS page. Weird. There is a lot of talk going around that this story is going to get even stranger as more is released.


Where on his myspace is the pic of her son? I don't see it. I see one that could be him, but no identifying words with the pic.....is that it?

This is all very weird and sick...
 
Is the kid's pic the white kid in the uniform??? How do we know that's CM?

It's so sad looking at her myspace. She was a tiny woman and looked like she was a cheerful person.
Too sad.
 
I am wondering if her son and the 36 year old were lovers?
 
I am wondering if her son and the 36 year old were lovers?

Why would you think that? I got the impression after reading Johnson's myspace page that maybe he might have a learning disability or mental disability. That might make him hang around people that were much younger.
 
WARNING: Some details of this article may be of a graphic nature, and offensive to some readers.

UPDATE: Tuesday afternoon we learned that Cooper’s son, Codey Miller, has been charged with sexual abuse of a corpse in connection with his mother’s murder.
Here’s the original report from 11 Connects Digital Journalist, George Jackson:
Johnson City, Tenn.—Tony Hyder knew something was wrong. The love of his life disappeared days ago. Sherri R. Cooper’s car was gone.
Saturday, Hyder stopped by the apartment she shared with her 17-year-old son, Codey Miller. He led Tony to the trash can.
“I asked him, I said ‘Codey, what’s wrong?‘ He said, ‘Mom’s in there,‘“ Hyder said.
“I said, ‘What?‘ He said, ‘Mom’s in there.‘ I said, ‘No she’s not.‘ I leaned over, couldn’t see nothing, pulled the last blanket out, and she was turned over inside the can and I flipped it over. She rolled about halfway out and I grabbed her hands and pulled her out—gave her CPR and everything—but no use. She was too cold and too stiff. I didn’t want to turn her loose.“
Earlier this month, Codey went to prom. Now he’s in a juvenile detention center waiting for attorneys to decide if he will stand trial for first-degree murder as an adult.
“If he did commit these acts he should be treated as an adult,“ said District Attorney General Tony Clark. “As a juvenile, if he was found guilty of the offenses he’s charged with we can only hold him until he’s 19.“
Hyder said “those acts” include a belt or rope.
“I asked the investigator to tell me the truth. Was she really choked? He said, ‘Yeah, but not from no hands,‘“ Hyder said.
Investigator Joe Harrah said Cooper didn’t have any “visible wounds,“ but he could not elaborate on the exact nature of her death.
“We are sending the body for autopsy,“ Harrah said. “Reason being, to find out the full extent of the cause of death.“
Investigators hope that autopsy will tell them when Cooper died, how she was killed, and who did it.
“You hear stories about they’re saying Codey did it, then other stories that say Chris did it. I want to know the truth,“ Hyder said.
According to court records, Christopher Johnson watched as Codey Miller killed his mother, wheeled her garbage bin inside the house, and told Miller to put her inside.
Both Johnson and Miller were charged with abuse of a corpse. Because Cooper did not exhibit any “visible wounds,“ that charge could be explained in at least two ways:
1. Investigators charged them with abuse of a corpse because they moved her body.
2. Investigators charged them with abuse of a corpse because she suffered wounds (post-mortem) that were not externally visible.



http://www.tricities.com/tri/news/l...ns_body_found_in_red_plastic_trash_can/24041/
 
Why would you think that? I got the impression after reading Johnson's myspace page that maybe he might have a learning disability or mental disability. That might make him hang around people that were much younger.


I don't know why I thought of it...I guess just the HUGE age difference and the sexual abuse of her corpse...like he was angry with her sexuality or views of his?
 
Police: Johnson City teen accused of murder, sexually abusing corpse killed mom over shopping trip (clothes for dance)


By Becky Campbell
Press Staff Writer
bcampbell@johnsoncitypress.com



Vivid details from the statement Codey Miller gave police about how he allegedly strangled his mother to death and later had sex with her corpse last year were part of a suppression hearing in Johnson City Juvenile Court on Thursday.

Miller, 18, told a police investigator he was mad at his mother because she had not bought him clothes for a school dance, and that’s what caused him to kill her.
....
“He told me he was pissed off at his mom because she didn’t want to go to Walmart,” to get the new clothes, Johnson City Police Investigator Joe Harrah testified.

He said Miller told him he went to the couch where his mother was lying, took off his belt, put it around her neck and cinched it tight.

“He said she started struggling and asked why he was doing this and he told her to hush,” Harrah said. After Cooper couldn’t talk anymore, she mouthed the word, “Why?” and Miller told her, “ ’Cause you pissed me off,” Harrah testified.

Harrah said Miller told him when his mother passed out he took the belt off her and put it back in his shorts and went back to bed.
.....

In the end, Juvenile Judge Sharon Green denied Kelly’s motion to suppress Miller’s statement.

“There is just no evidence before the court that would lead the court to believe there was coercive police activity,” Green said.

Green also denied a defense motion asking for bond to allow Miller to go live with his grandparents.



more here

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?ID=73325
 
TexisMist, I clicked on the link provided for Codey Miller's myspace and it says he logged in on 01-07-10. Was he out on bail or something?
 
TexisMist, I clicked on the link provided for Codey Miller's myspace and it says he logged in on 01-07-10. Was he out on bail or something?

from what I read, he's still in custody:

Judge Green also ordered Miller to remain in state custody until his next court date. He is due back in Juvenile Court on March 11th.

http://www2.tricities.com/tri/news/local/article/teen_accused_of_murder_due_in_juvenile_court/38954/

and there's also this update at above link:

Although Miller’s attorney argued police violated his client’s rights when they took his signed, written confession, Judge Green ruled that the confession will stand and that prosecutors will be able use the statement in future court proceedings. JCPD Inv. Joe Harrah detailed the statement in court Thursday.
 
TexisMist, I clicked on the link provided for Codey Miller's myspace and it says he logged in on 01-07-10. Was he out on bail or something?
Oh, wow, lizzy... you're right!

His MySpace shows the last login was 01-07-10, and his 'mood' is set to 'aggravated'.

I hope he is not free. He is extremely dangerous, in my opinion, and needs to be locked up for the rest of his life.
 
A friend might know his password and logged on. It happens all the time. But, I agree, he should NOT be out.
 

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