Despite their closeness in the above image, Brian and Alisha were not a couple. In fact, Alisha was six months pregnant with another man’s baby. Brian was actually Alisha’s boss at Home Depot, where they worked in Plainfield, Illinois. According to Alisha’s mother, Brian immediately took a liking to Alisha when she began to work for him, and the two struck up a casual friendship. Brian, however, was seeking more than friendship. He told others at work that they two were dating, but Alisha’s friends stated that the two never once went out on a date.
Alisha’s mother stated that Alisha was not romantically interested in Brian and only spent time with him to preserve her position at work. This is how Alisha ended up being Brian’s date to his sister’s wedding in Door County, located around six hours away from Plainfield. Alisha expressed to her friends that she did not want to go—so when they asked her why she agreed to be his date, she replied “I need to keep this job.” The father of her child was not planning on being involved, so Alisha was terrified of losing her only source of income.
At some point after Brian and Alisha arrived in Door County, the two got into an argument. Alisha ultimately decided to end her friendship with Brian. She agreed to act as his date for the evening at his sister’s wedding, but insisted that their friendship would be over once they returned home. Brian was enraged by the thought of not being in her life anymore, and that rage continued to build as he grew gradually more intoxicated at the wedding.
Once Brian and Alisha were back at their hotel room, they were laying in their respective beds when Brian attempted to make plans with Alisha that coming Sunday. Alisha reminded Brian that they would no longer be friends once they returned home. Brian then snapped and attacked Alisha on her bed. A struggle ensued, and Brian strangled Alisha—killing both her and her unborn baby. Hours later, Brian stumbled into a gas station and used the clerk’s phone to call 911 and turn himself in.
After his arrest, Brian confessed even more disturbing details. In addition to killing Alisha, Brian told investigators that he raped her postmortem. He said he took her clothes off just because he “wanted to see what she looked like naked,” but investigators soon learned that Brian had already been spying on Alisha for months. While building their case against Brian, investigators found that Brian had secretly installed cameras in one of his bathrooms when Alisha was dog-sitting for him. He also installed a camera in the bathroom of the hotel room they shared in Door County.
At trial, prosecutors stated that it was clear Brian had a sick obsession with Alisha. Brian’s defense attorneys did not deny this; however they claimed that Brian was intoxicated while he killed Alisha and therefore was too drunk to form intent when the act occurred. That apparently caught the attention of some jurors, as the jury ended up being deadlocked and the judge declared a mistrial.
However, the prosecution tried him again and this time, they succeeded. It took the jury less than an hour to declare Brian guilty of all charges. He was ultimately sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
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I hope the Lord keeps hell hot for that creep
ReplyDeleteWord - just saw the episode Killer Beside Me - what a sicko creep he was
DeleteIts a tragedy she died like that. Where were her parents, Home Depot supervisors
ReplyDeleteHome Depot was like a secondary employer. They worked for the vendor who supplied florals etc. to HD. They did work at HD locations and stuff though. But there was a sort of primary and secondary employer. He was previously required to do anger management, but then nobody followed up on it with him. Her parents are amazing and involved in her life. People don't expect someone to progress from a few instances of creepy/verbally abusive behavior to flat out murder like that. It's always easier to think what you would have done in retrospect. Keep in mind she had been working there since she was 16 and knew him for a few years.
DeleteFrom listening to the story the way it went this guy was showing red flags the whole time with his behavior towards women he first went at her friend there and she ended up quitting home Depot and when he started with Alisha she could have quit the job there found other job for her safety and continued looking for another job because once a guy like that continuing to show that type of behavior it's time to get away from it and for sure when he asked her to go to wedding in Wisconsin she could of played it off and told her mom that she didn't want to go and leave home Depot and could have got a restraining order against him in case he tried anything else but it's water under bridge now I feel so bad for her and her mom that it got to that point she had whole life ahead of her including her child and other young women must look out for each other because there guys out there like him
DeleteThe poor thing. If only she hadn’t fallen pregnant she would’ve been back at college.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame she shared a joint bathroom and presuming a shared bedroom with this creep.
Delete'If only' comments as you've put are meaningless. Like shame she walked down the street straight into some crazy guy. You cannot predict your future like that.
Please tell me you’re not blaming the victim here. She was only a semester away from graduating which tells me she was going to school. That doesn’t matter though. There could be a million shoulda, woulda, coulda and if only’s and it still makes no difference. The only person responsible for Alisha and Ava’s deaths is that sick, cringey creeper who wanted to control her.
DeleteI just watched the episode too and read this seems to me she gave him false hope of something. There are plenty of jobs out there yet she put up with this and stayed there. I hope he rots in hell put comeon you putting up with all this.
ReplyDeleteFlat out no, no, no. I knew her, I know her family and other people that were close to her. She was pregnant, how many employers do you think want to hire someone they know will soon be on maternity leave? It's always easier to think in a retrospective perspective and what people should have done or would have done. She worked there for like 5 years, she knew him for a few years it's not like they had just met and all of a sudden he starts getting verbally abusive towards her and on a frequent basis. People also would expect someone to become some sort of physically violent before going so far as to murder someone before they actually murder someone. She was not attracted to him in any sort of sexual or romantic way nor did she ever lead him on.
Deletei'm so sorry for your loss but you're just wrong and none of y'all should have let this happen, including the victim.
Deleteshe got in a car w her creepy disgusting boss and went to a family wedding of his 6 hours away then used the same hotel room as him.
there's absolutely no excuse. what was she thinking? what were the people who let her go thinking? save it. you don't do this for any job under any circumstances. this had disaster written all over it from every altitude and from every angle.
this guy is responsible and should die a tortuous death. but this was 100% avoidable. she should have left there years ago like her other friend did. and her parents should have done a better job of educating her as to the dangers attractive women face and how to minimize those dangers and when to seek help. which is sooner rather than later.
what a nightmare.
You're absolutely right. Happy that you're educating people that it's always the woman's fault, never-under any circumstances-the man's. I mean, she pretty much murdered herself. Right?
DeleteGender has nothing to do with this, m8. Is a person "at fault" for leaving their door unlocked, giving entry to someone meaning to do them harm? It's their fault for leaving it unlocked, and the criminal's fault for taking advantage of that. Both people are at fault, one for negligent or forgetful reasons and the other for morally bankrupt reasons. It's not "victim blaming hurr" to point out that it's dumb to put yourself in a compromising position.
DeleteYour answer is completely patronising. She knew him for years, had no idea about the cameras he had installed to spy on her, or the level of his disgusting obsession. Maybe she felt as if her life wasn't in danger - leading him on, that really made me mad. There is 1 person at fault when a crime is committed, the perpetrator, end of. Some people don't realise until its too late that they are in a 'compromising position'. Placing even part-blame on the victim 'for negligence or forgetful reasons', is victim blaming. Also, dumb...jesus christ - have a word with yourself 'm8'.
DeleteIf I forget to lock my door and some fool enters my home, then it is his fault for being shot in the chest (aim for mass) and being killed.
DeleteIf dark is the night I am the knight if vengeance is not sought I'm vengeance if you you for some reason make it out of prison I'm there to make sure you'll want to return.
ReplyDeleteBoth Alisha and her mom stated that she tried desperately to find another job. However, the search was futile. As a mother myself, there were many instances while i was watching this that i would have told my daughter to leave the job. I am a jamaican, and in jamaica we would say "its best we share one slice of bread" than to have someone treat my chile with such disrespect and humiliation. Even though Alisha wanted to keep the job for her independence, i think would have listened to her mother if she told her to leave and assured her they would find some way to work it out. Am going to be honest in saying, i cried soooo hard today when i saw this on ID because Alisha's life could have been spared if someone had just made the decision to quit the job. This ordeal was filled with SIGNS...
ReplyDeleteIt's easier to say in retrospect knowing what occurred. People expect a progression to form from verbal abuse/creepy behavior to physical violence then eventually, murder. People also expect a certain frequency of occurrance too. I was at both trials, and I talk to her mom all the time. I helped her mom make the video that was played at his sentencing. I don't remember if any of the episodes included this detail, but her mom thought she was in a car accident when the police came to her house.
DeleteThe job was not a college job, it was a job that she had during the summers when she lived at home. This happened when she was living with her parents. And you are correct, nobody imagined that things would go that far. Cooper was a creep, yes, but people expect a certain kind of progression of violence before they would even think that someone would kill them. Everyone likes to say that they would have left that job, but they're always looking at it through a retroactive lens. I went to both trials, every time he was on the bench testifying I (and other people that were there - family members etc.) had to go into the separate room they had set up for us to watch it on the TV screen. We couldn't make facial expressions in court, talk, etc. so that allowed for us to be able to express our emotions etc. while he was on the witness stand. It was hard keeping it all in inside the actual courtroom because of how much he lied.
ReplyDeletei was just watching a re-enactment/interview the friends and family type show about this on ID Discovery. i had to turn it off about 60% through because the scumbag playing this scumbag was so effectively creepy and disgusting. i couldn't deal because i wanted to take a baseball bat to his head so badly.
ReplyDeletei'm not a victim blamer. however this beautiful young woman absolutely bears some direct responsibility for her own demise. i mean what the living F ?
this vile POS had been sexually harassing her and more or less stalking her for years. what job is worth dying for? she lets this loser pressure her into taking a trip 6 hours away and then shares a motel room w this guy? no. no. not up for debate, no. she was old enough to know way better than to give in to that.
she told her mom and friends that she didn't want to go and they let it happen anyway?? my god. this was so f'ing preventable. this guy had previously creeped out the mom by letting it drop that he'd been in anger management.
i am truly sorry for everyone's loss but this was an epic failure of judgement on so many levels by so many, including this beautiful young woman. and for anyone who wants to argue that alisha was an adult with her own free will? NO. YOU.DO.NOT.LET.THIS.HAPPEN. you intervene and prevent it.
my god i hope this guy is beaten to death in prison. how come we never discuss the death penalty for cases with no doubt whatsoever?
unreal.
For not being a victim blamer, you sure are blaming the victim. My gosh listen to yourself. You really believe that she bears responsibility for her own murder?
DeleteDo you tell women not to wear certain clothes or makeup too? I mean surely they draw attention to themselves and they could draw the wrong attention right??🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
i agree she didn't give him false hope. but she sure as F gave him opportunity ...
ReplyDelete"I should be able to walk through the woods without self defense tools nor awareness and never face any consequences. If I get attacked by a wolf or bear, why, I bear zero responsibility whatsoever. It's society's fault for not teaching wolves/bears to not harm humans." -Anonymous, Jan22, 2021 @04:54
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the analogy carries, because regardless of how much society tries to neuter normal males, there will always be some males that are violent monsters by their very nature. We should be teaching boys and girls alike to recognize warning signs and be able to defend themselves, not fruitlessly trying to "teach men not to [X]" at the expense of regular men.
I don't blame the girl for being young and naive, but that doesn't mean that innocence and naivety are virtues.
Brian Cooper will roam the prison yard a man despised by all but those he finds despicable, shunned by the majority of inmates and will see disgust in every eye contact for the rest of his incarceration. And he still has Hell to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree w the opinions of person on this thread who says they knew the victim.
ReplyDeleteIn hindsight it's obvious that the right thing to do was quit this job, but that's hindsight.
Somehwere in this whole thing Cooper said he'd got creepy w another girlfriend... whether it was Alisha or the next girl this guy was a ticking timebomb, no matter what "signals" the girl did or didn't give him.
As I remember he was nearly 10 years older than her, this job he had presumably gave him a ton of access to younger women who needed to be working a minimum-wage job to make ends meet.
If you're female and 15-25 your life is filled w these kinds of pushy interactions from men, honestly. If you work in retail/food, there are plenty of creepy interactions with bosses, patrons, people who show up at your car after closing hours etc. Then the social interactions where friends-of-friends offer to drive you home or someone offers you a drink and you wonder what's in it. It's so much of just what's in the primordial slime of being that age. There's a lot of gray-area creepiness, and it's hard to figure out which creepiness warrants what response.
Alisha was clearly a person who tried to take on big challenges- college, job, family, pregnancy, future single motherhood. If she were a man we would applaud her for for it and call her enterprising.
Pregnancy is amazingly marginalizing. She's right to think another employer wouldn't have hired her. We can't know how badly she needed the money and stability the job gave her. She was suuuuper vulnerable.
Although staying in the same hotel room gave this guy opportunity and many people wouldn't have been comfortable in this situation, in her shoes I might have assumed *lots* of men aren't interested in a pregnant woman, and who expects to be assaulted/murdered after the wedding of someone's sibling??
If it hadn't been Alisha he would've found another vulnerable person and opportunity. I wish someone had caught him when he set up cameras. But then, how many nutjobs like that are there out there that do that kind of thing and get no criminal records?
Total speculation but Cooper seems to have some incel "I deserve to have this person" thing going on... I wonder if he thought a pregnant woman would "turn him down". I suspect that he might have thought that bringing Alisha to his sibling's wedding would be some kind of signal to her of what kind of swell guy he was (saying this sarcastically), then never expected that in her situation she'd (rightly so) show him the door.
He was for suuure super manipulative, (video cameras, planning cables to tie her up with, threats at work etc), so I wouldn't put it past him to have tried to sell himself as some kind of "nice guy" who was "accidentally single" and just wanted to show up w a plus 1 for this wedding. Six hours in the car with this dude up to the wedding must have been dire enough, then everything else...
Am completely bummed that here's yet another case that some guy's ego got this big: rigging cameras, taking advantage of a vulnerable woman to get a "date" to a wedding (and trying to pester her into a relationship), killing her and her baby... plus the rest. WTF, women can't assume that they'll be wanted by some dude and just be creepy and push and push while living in some alternate reality- it's so entitled. What a POS.
*If you're female and 15-25 your life is filled w these kinds of pushy interactions from men, honestly.*
DeleteTrue.
I can tell from experience that a good looking outgoing female will get uncomfortable by this kind of pushy men way longer, at 55yo it 's still like that. Even way younger 35-40yo guys. Even total strangers.
I sometimes want(ed) to scream as loud as I can..."Just f** off will you!!! "
But I'm raised by parents who tauht us to be polite. And some guys will never get it.
There are many..I mean many!!! of those creeps around. Some acting openly, others acting in a more manipulative way.(devil in disguise).
And they're never ever at fault.
-We're man. You're attractive. It's our hormones. " .
-I had been drinking, I didn't....
Biggest bullshit ever.
Shame.
I do not touch them in an inappropriate way just because they are attractive either. I don't start a conversation with you to finally PUSH you to where I want you. I am a heathy woman ...yes with hormones ...and I drink a glass of wine now and tgen but there's no reasin to make someone uncomfy. Especially when they tell you they don't like it. Many woman know what I mean. Back off, guys. RESPECT!
By getting older and having more life experience, our little antennas will capture that kind of behavior sooner.
But I understand well that this young vulnerable woman did not notice the red flags. ( and she didn't notice the hidden cameras)
What I do not understand well is why the parents did not prevent her from making a 2x6 hours trip, which was so called friend's PRIORITY. At 6-7 months pregnancy, that is NOT YOUR daughters priority. It's just reflecting the guy's despair. Already asking this to a pregnant young woman he have no relationship with!
Still no eye opener to parents?
But still.
Maybe the parents and friends didn't know details of his behaviour. It's true that if a victim doesn't see it coming, it's even more complicated for outsiders.
And then again. At 21 you're an adult, you make your own decisions.
As a single mom, I remember how the thought of possibly not being able to provide for your child can haunt your thoughts.
I applied for a job when I was 5 months pregnant and got it. It is possible. Not everyone is lucky.
And parents can not always provide for an adult child with a baby. Not every woman living her own life for quite a time will want to give that up to accept help from her parents and move back to their house.
Questioning but also understanding.
I really feel for that poor woman and her family.
May that creep R.I.P. (Rot in prison. )
P.S. SEVEN MONTHS pregnant. OMG.
ReplyDeleteIf you were at both trials, as you say you were, then you were well aware she led him on repeatedly. She used him for her job, she used him for pot, she used him for a sympathetic ear, and she used him for free transportation, entertainment, and food. She let him think they were boyfriend and girlfriend right up to the point that she had to admit publicly they were an item, then she shut him off cold for the sake of her reputation. He is a half-wit loser who has no social skills. Yet she let him think he had a shot with her. None of what he did was acceptable, nor was it her fault, but she put herself on the tracks, and the train-wreck was forseeable for years before it happened.
ReplyDeleteOne of two things happened in that hotel room: She found his camera and made it clear to him that she would never, ever trust him again. Or she told him in no uncertain terms that she was never ever going to sleep with him. He could not abide by either of those situations, so he just decided if he can't have her no one else can.
None of this is her fault, but that train wreck was foreseeable since 2010. You cannot sexually lead a half-wit on for years and expect to get out of the relationship scar-free. It never works out that way - WRONG or right. You just cannot toy with adolescent hormones (let's face it - he is no more a man than the average 13-year-old) and assume sane rational responses.
All of that being said, I think she gave in to go to the wedding as much out of sympathy as anything, and she was a good soul. She also did not realize she was in over her head until it was too late. NONE OF HER ACTIONS justify any of his, and he deserves lockup from society for the rest of his life due to his inability to operate within society's norms. To this day he thinks it was his right to sexually ravage her pregnant corpse and to have taken her life before that. His only defence was "I counta done it!" If I had a dollar for every time this low-life SOB said "I counta done it!", I would be retired. He did it. Without one ounce of concern for how it affected her, her family, or even his. The man buried his own loving mother in a mountain of debt, and destroyed everything around everyone involved.
I wish more women would play along with these sickos until they get to a safe place. Just pretend everything is OK then just disappear on them when they get home. I feel bad for her loved ones. She seemed like such a good person.
ReplyDeletePlease remove the picture of that SOB. He doesn't deserve any attention. Thx.
ReplyDeleteThank you to "Too Wired"...I had to stop watching it and come back to it an hour later —I was so enraged by the blatant stupidity of her mother! And where was the Step-father!?! If nothing else she should have gone WITH her to the wedding...And the VERY FIRST thing she should have done when her daughter came of age is to have counseled her about birth control so her daughter didn't end up pregnant and abandoned like she did! The most COLOSSALLY stupid adult WOMAN I have EVER seen in my life! And I'm a Senior from NYC where you see everything! 100% PREVENTABLE was RIGHT!
ReplyDelete