| A 40-year-old Corsicana man convicted of murdering a Buffalo man almost 10 years ago near the Trinity River is scheduled to be executed on March 11, 2003. Bobby Glen Cook, 40, of Corsicana is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Feb. 5, 2003 for the February 1993 shooting death of Edwin Earl Holder, 42, of Buffalo. An execution date was set by 369th State District Judge Bascom W. Bentley III. On the morning of Feb. 8, 1993, a passerby saw what he thought was a boat submerged off the east bank of the Trinity River near a gas station in Cayuga, Texas. On closer inspection, he realized it was actually a blue truck, partially submerged in the water. The man poked at what appeared to be a sleeping bag and insulated underwear in the bed of the truck, and uncovered an arm and part of a shoulder. The rest of the body was submerged under water. The Anderson County Sheriff's Department pulled the truck from the river and discovered the body of 42-year-old Edwin Earl Holder. Officers saw what appeared to be blood on the back bumper of the truck and splattered on the inside of the tailgate. The truck was in first gear, the ignition was on, and the windows were rolled up. The medical examiner concluded that Holder died of six gunshot wounds to the head. The shots had been fired in rapid succession, from three feet or closer to Holder's head. One bullet entered and exited the forehead, but the remaining five .22-caliber bullets remained lodged in Holder's brain, any one of which would have been fatal. The close pattern of the wounds suggested that Holder was asleep in his sleeping bag when he was shot, and no struggle had occurred. Holder had left his home on the morning of Feb. 5, 1993, to go fishing at the Trinity River Bridge. He took with him his blue Dodge truck packed with camping equipment, fishing gear and his boat. Holder's co-worker saw Holder's truck and boat trailer parked at the bridge by Baker's Landing around 2:30 p.m. that day. While the witness did not see Holder or his boat, he did see a red pickup truck and two white males building a camp fire. Holder had been reported missing by his wife the previous day after failing to meet a friend for a fishing/camping trip. Upon investigation of Baker's Landing, the police discovered evidence that Holder had been camping there, and found dirt that appeared to be mixed with blood. The .22-caliber bullets that killed Holder were consistent with the type of gun Holder usually carried with him on his fishing trips; however, no weapons were found in Holder's truck or at Baker's Landing, nor was Holder's wallet. A boat matching the description of Holder's was later found on the Trinity River, south of where Holder's truck was found. Several holes had been punched into the bottom of the boat, which had caused it to partially sink. An employee from the gas station near where Holder's body was found, told the police that on Feb. 6, 1993, around 3:00 a.m., he heard a loud muffler. From the door, he could see the tail lights of one vehicle as well as a red and white truck with a loud exhaust system, parked about 60 to 75 yards from the river. The gas station employee informed the driver of the red truck that he was on private property. The driver told him that he was having problems with his truck, however, the driver appeared nervous and would not look at the man. After speaking with four men who were at the river on Feb. 6, 1993, the police obtained a composite drawing of two suspects and a description of a red and white Chevrolet pickup truck. Based on the composite drawing and the description of the truck, the police went to the residence of Robin Jenkins and Steven Cockroft, where they discovered a red and white pickup truck. On Feb. 9, 1993, officers obtained a statement from Jenkins and Cockroft, implicating Cook in the murder. Cook was later arrested at Jenkins and Cockroft's residence. A search of the residence uncovered items belonging to Holder. On Feb. 10, 1993, Cook gave a voluntary statement in which he admitted that he, Jenkins and Cockroft were at the bridge at the same time as Holder. Cook claimed that he was helping Holder check his fishing lines, but he became frightened by Holder's behavior because Holder was drinking and waiving a gun around. Cook claimed that at one point, Holder reached for his gun and Cook attempted to grab it and pull it away but the gun went off two or three times. Cook admitted disposing of some of Holder's belongings while keeping others. Judge Bentley set Cook’s execution date after the U.S. Supreme Court denied the defendant’s writ for certiorari. Anderson County District Attorney Doug Lowe, who was not in office when Cook was convicted in 1994, sounded confident the execution would proceed as planned in February. “Based on my experience, I think Mr. Cook is going to get what he deserves on that date,” Lowe said. “I don’t think anybody can do anything for him. I think what it shows is our system works,” he continued. “It works slowly. The defendant had the benefit of a lot of good lawyers. He got what he needed to get.” During a 1994 trial, then-Anderson County District Attorney Jeff Herrington told the nine-man, three-woman jury that Cook shot and killed Holder for $21 and fishing equipment that was to be split with an accomplice. Cook, a ninth-grade dropout with an extensive criminal past, shot Holder with the victim’s own .22-caliber handgun while the man was asleep in a sleeping bag, the state argued during the trial. The accomplice, Stephen Ray Cockroft, now 37, of Dawson was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of capital murder in November 1994 in Anderson County. A third defendant, Robin Elaine French Jenkins, 31, of Dawson testified against Cook in exchange for a 15-year sentence on the lesser charge of robbery. Previously, Cook had served 8 months of a 6 year sentence in 1987 for burglary of a vehicle. He was back in prison within six months after receiving a 5 year sentence for theft, and was again paroled in only 4 months. Cook went back to prison again less than a year later with a 10 year sentence for drugs and burglary convictions for which he served less than a year. Then one year later, in 1991, returned to prison with an 8 year sentence for theft and served only 6 months. He had been on parole for less than a year when Holder was murdered. |
