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"I will never know how long they kept her, tortured, and raped her"
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sheets3inthwind
Apr 24, 2000, 3:00:00 AM4/24/00
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Plea bargain gives closure to families
April 7, 2000
BY DALE
EMCH
BLADE STAFF WRITER
The lasting impact of the Cook
brothers' acts of sheer evil became more evident with each
tear-choked statement of their victims' families.(Chronology of
killings)
Though most of the murders and rapes the brothers told
police they were involved with took place more than 20 years
ago, many of those speaking yesterday in Lucas County Common
Pleas Court still seem to be tortured by the vileness that their
loved ones endured.
Lattie Small's diminutive frame shook with
anger and sobs as she spoke about the loss of her daughter,
Vicky Small, who appears to be Anthony Cook's first victim.
"My
husband and other children have been shattered by that fatal
day, Dec. 20, [1973]," Mrs. Small said, tears streaming down her
face. "Me — I've cried every day of my life since it happened
and will till I die."
Mrs. Small, a former Sylvania Township
resident who now lives in northeast Indiana, and her family
found out Wednesday afternoon that Anthony Cook told police he
killed and sexually assaulted her daughter on a snowy night just
days before Christmas.
About 40 family members of the eight
people that either Anthony or Nathaniel Cook murdered from 1973
to 1981 attended an emotion-filled hearing during which the
brothers entered guilty pleas for a violent attack on a young
couple.
A plea agreement calls for Anthony Cook, 51, to serve 15
years to life in prison for the 1980 kidnapping and aggravated
murder of Tom Gordon. Nathaniel Cook will receive judicial
release in 20 years for the attempted murder of Mr. Gordon's
girlfriend and two counts of kidnapping.
The result was
yesterday's hearing, which seemed like a veritable procession of
pain as family member after family member talked about how they
have been wounded by one or both Cooks.
Sharon Backes-Wright,
mother of 12-year-old Dawn Rene Backes, offered the most
venomous comments to the brothers. Her daughter was raped,
tortured, and killed by having her skull smashed with a cinder
block on Feb. 21, 1981.
"I will never know how long they kept
her, tortured, and raped her," Mrs. Backes-Wright said, quaking
with rage. "Their ugly faces were the last thing she saw on this
earth, which had to seem an eternity to her."
Mitch Balonek,
brother of Stacey Balonek, offered perhaps the most charitable
remarks of those who addressed the Cooks before they were
sentenced.
His sister was with Daryle Cole when Anthony Cook
beat them to death with Mr. Cole's aluminum baseball bat on Aug.
2, 1981. A teacher at Scott High School, Mr. Balonek said he and
his family are still haunted by his sister's murder, but
wondered what would inspire such evilness.
"We live in an awful
world that would push a man to this," Mr. Balonek said. "Indeed,
in some ways I pity [Anthony] Cook. Had he lived under different
circumstances, he might have been a good, kind-hearted man.
Underneath his cold exterior may lie the heart and sympathies of
one who is too troubled to show his pain."
At a news conference
after the hearing, every family member who spoke to reporters
supported the plea agreement offered by Lucas County Prosecutor
Julia Bates.
Walter Gordon, Tom Gordon's brother and a former
Lucas County sheriff's deputy, said Mrs. Bates was to be
commended.
"Look at how long we waited," Mr. Gordon said. "I
can't explain how I feel about Julia and the detectives - they
just worked really hard and did a good job. They almost wiped
the slate clean."
Rusty Small, Vicky Small's brother, said he
was only 9 when his sister was murdered. He said he grew up
watching the devastation her death caused his family. He said
the plea agreement might allow his family to have some closure.
"There have been a lot of open wounds over the years," Mr. Small
said. "You never forget about her, but it's hard to talk about
her. Now we know who did it and what happened and now he'll pay
a price for it."
April 7, 2000
BY DALE
EMCH
BLADE STAFF WRITER
The lasting impact of the Cook
brothers' acts of sheer evil became more evident with each
tear-choked statement of their victims' families.(Chronology of
killings)
Though most of the murders and rapes the brothers told
police they were involved with took place more than 20 years
ago, many of those speaking yesterday in Lucas County Common
Pleas Court still seem to be tortured by the vileness that their
loved ones endured.
Lattie Small's diminutive frame shook with
anger and sobs as she spoke about the loss of her daughter,
Vicky Small, who appears to be Anthony Cook's first victim.
"My
husband and other children have been shattered by that fatal
day, Dec. 20, [1973]," Mrs. Small said, tears streaming down her
face. "Me — I've cried every day of my life since it happened
and will till I die."
Mrs. Small, a former Sylvania Township
resident who now lives in northeast Indiana, and her family
found out Wednesday afternoon that Anthony Cook told police he
killed and sexually assaulted her daughter on a snowy night just
days before Christmas.
About 40 family members of the eight
people that either Anthony or Nathaniel Cook murdered from 1973
to 1981 attended an emotion-filled hearing during which the
brothers entered guilty pleas for a violent attack on a young
couple.
A plea agreement calls for Anthony Cook, 51, to serve 15
years to life in prison for the 1980 kidnapping and aggravated
murder of Tom Gordon. Nathaniel Cook will receive judicial
release in 20 years for the attempted murder of Mr. Gordon's
girlfriend and two counts of kidnapping.
The result was
yesterday's hearing, which seemed like a veritable procession of
pain as family member after family member talked about how they
have been wounded by one or both Cooks.
Sharon Backes-Wright,
mother of 12-year-old Dawn Rene Backes, offered the most
venomous comments to the brothers. Her daughter was raped,
tortured, and killed by having her skull smashed with a cinder
block on Feb. 21, 1981.
"I will never know how long they kept
her, tortured, and raped her," Mrs. Backes-Wright said, quaking
with rage. "Their ugly faces were the last thing she saw on this
earth, which had to seem an eternity to her."
Mitch Balonek,
brother of Stacey Balonek, offered perhaps the most charitable
remarks of those who addressed the Cooks before they were
sentenced.
His sister was with Daryle Cole when Anthony Cook
beat them to death with Mr. Cole's aluminum baseball bat on Aug.
2, 1981. A teacher at Scott High School, Mr. Balonek said he and
his family are still haunted by his sister's murder, but
wondered what would inspire such evilness.
"We live in an awful
world that would push a man to this," Mr. Balonek said. "Indeed,
in some ways I pity [Anthony] Cook. Had he lived under different
circumstances, he might have been a good, kind-hearted man.
Underneath his cold exterior may lie the heart and sympathies of
one who is too troubled to show his pain."
At a news conference
after the hearing, every family member who spoke to reporters
supported the plea agreement offered by Lucas County Prosecutor
Julia Bates.
Walter Gordon, Tom Gordon's brother and a former
Lucas County sheriff's deputy, said Mrs. Bates was to be
commended.
"Look at how long we waited," Mr. Gordon said. "I
can't explain how I feel about Julia and the detectives - they
just worked really hard and did a good job. They almost wiped
the slate clean."
Rusty Small, Vicky Small's brother, said he
was only 9 when his sister was murdered. He said he grew up
watching the devastation her death caused his family. He said
the plea agreement might allow his family to have some closure.
"There have been a lot of open wounds over the years," Mr. Small
said. "You never forget about her, but it's hard to talk about
her. Now we know who did it and what happened and now he'll pay
a price for it."
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