[SarahW]

Well, now I am saying it - Albert Cook was free as a bird on the date of Chandra Levy's murder.

He attacked a neighbor (intending to rape her) passing by his house on June 4,2001. He was chased and found in a nearby restroom - his capture led to his confession to the murder of a woman left for dead in Rock Creek Park the previous January.

He was charged June 5 with the murder and arraigned the next day.

Here are some links to articles about his crimes and capture and arrest.

Expressions of relief and anger follow Cook's arrest Effie Bathen Montgomery County-Aspen Hill Gazette. June 13, 2001

Lawyer: Good Samaritan deserves $28K reward by Manju Subramanya and Steven T. Dennis Montgomery County edition of The Gazette June 13, 2001

Md. Man Charged In Jogger's Slaying Attack at His Home Prompted Arrest By Phuong Ly Washington Post. Wednesday, June 6, 2001; Page B01

[terilyn]

I hope the police look at this guy a lot closer, I'm sure they will. I'm curious about the size of the shoes they found in Rock Creek Park in July, though it would be a long trip home without any shoes for this guy. Two things that don't fit at first glance. The location. Cook assaulted people, (as far as we know), close to home. And, from what I can tell, he raped and beat this woman and then left her in a snowbank. No apparant attempt to hide her. Chandra was under quite a bit of brush from an earlier article today. It sounds like whoever killed her went to a lot of trouble to make sure that she wouldn't be found right away, and possibly took her jewelry. I couldn't tell from this article if this woman's jewelry was missing but it didn't sound like it.

Fox News just reported that they released the sketch of the ring in the hopes that a pawn shop owner might recognize it if in fact it were stolen and later sold.

It sounds like her ring, bracelet, watch and keys are missing. We don't know about the necklace.

It also sounds like if this is the guy, (Cook), he'll probably fess up pretty easily. He didn't appear to put up much resistance to talking in this case. All the more reason for the police NOT to divulge too much of what was found at the scene. It makes me mad now that the press reported that the clothesline was found and that her leggings were knotted. If this guy did confess and that info wasn't public and he said he used his hands, or whatever, they'd know he was probably lying. But now, he could confess and use info that was made public.