LOUISE COOK
Louise Cook, 84, was a deeply religious woman who lived in a house at 2000 Rawlings Street for more than forty years. Every day, Ms. Cook kneeled to pray, always facing north toward a tall tree in the corner of her yard.
The day she was killed, June 20, 1994, neighbors saw a young, neatly dressed black man talking with Ms. Cook at her front door. She was known as someone who would help people who needed a few dollars but she always made them work for the money she gave them. The neighbors remember seeing Ms. Cook and the unknown young man go into her yard and trim her tree.
The next morning, a man who was there to do yard work found Ms Cook's body inside her house.
Cold Case Unit Leader Mike Mathis was an original detective on this case. He says it was the kind of brutal murder that haunts investigators.
"Somebody out there knows what happened. Either the person who did it has talked or they knew about it in the beginning, but were reluctant to come forward. What we hope for Is that time has given these people new reasons to come forward."
The day she was killed, June 20, 1994, neighbors saw a young, neatly dressed black man talking with Ms. Cook at her front door. She was known as someone who would help people who needed a few dollars but she always made them work for the money she gave them. The neighbors remember seeing Ms. Cook and the unknown young man go into her yard and trim her tree.
The next morning, a man who was there to do yard work found Ms Cook's body inside her house.
Cold Case Unit Leader Mike Mathis was an original detective on this case. He says it was the kind of brutal murder that haunts investigators.
"Somebody out there knows what happened. Either the person who did it has talked or they knew about it in the beginning, but were reluctant to come forward. What we hope for Is that time has given these people new reasons to come forward."
Original Investigating Agency: Chattanooga Police Department
If you have information on this case, please use the form below or call the cold case hotline: 423-209-7470
