On Feb. 9, 2014, officers and the fire department responded to a home engulfed in fire off Woodchuck Road near Perryville in Texas. After the blaze was put out, authorities found Cook’s body in the wreckage, while the cause of the fire was determined to be arson.
Later, an autopsy report showed Cook’s death was due to 11 blunt-force traumas to her head and torso, reported Longview News-Journal. In addition, she suffered stab wounds in the ear, the trachea, and the spinal cord. Hence, the victim’s death was ruled a homicide.
According to Cook’s cousin, Stephanie Hollis, the victim had planned to move out of the home she shared with her boyfriend the same day the house was engulfed in fire. However, after investigators interviewed her boyfriend a couple of times, they were unable to place him at the residence at the time of the homicide. With no more evidence and leads to point investigators to the killer, the case became cold, with no arrest ever made.
Erica’s son, who was seven years old at the time of the homicide, has had to endure the agony of not knowing what happened to his mother. Though Hollis adopted him, the victim’s son only knew about his biological mother in his freshman year at high school.
Erica’s family described her as an individual who loved hard and enjoyed stealthily walking up on people.
“You would not hear her, you would not hear a footstep, you would not see her. You would turn this way and there she was,” said Hollis, according to Project Cold Case.
If anyone has any information that would blow this case wide open, please contact the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office at 903-843-2541 or CrimeStoppers at (800) 396-3391 with the option to remain anonymous.
Leave a Reply