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Framed: An Examination of the Nancy Cooper Murder Case
Can the government withhold evidence that could prove your innocence? In this shocking case, the state of North Carolina cited national security reasons for doing just that. It crippled any possible defense case for Brad Cooper who was charged with the murder of his wife, Nancy in 2008.
Nancy left home to go jogging and never returned. She was later found murdered. A shoddy and corrupt investigation followed, as evidence was destroyed and mishandled; witnesses were coached and evidence of innocence was ignored. Learn the facts about this horrible case that will leave you appalled at the state of our justice system.
Nancy left home to go jogging and never returned. She was later found murdered. A shoddy and corrupt investigation followed, as evidence was destroyed and mishandled; witnesses were coached and evidence of innocence was ignored. Learn the facts about this horrible case that will leave you appalled at the state of our justice system.
316 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2015
40 people are currently reading
525 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Blanchard
2 books22 followersLynne is the author of Framed: An Examination of the Nancy Cooper murder case
and Absence of Evidence: An Examination of the Michelle Fisher murder case
Lynne wrote this book after she became concerned about the horrendous state of the U.S. justice system after witnessing the disregard for the presumption of innocence, rights violations and official misconduct that occurred in this case.
and Absence of Evidence: An Examination of the Michelle Fisher murder case
Lynne wrote this book after she became concerned about the horrendous state of the U.S. justice system after witnessing the disregard for the presumption of innocence, rights violations and official misconduct that occurred in this case.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 1, 2020
I knew nothing about Brad & Nancy Cooper prior to reading this. If you are looking for an unbiased view of this case-this is not the book for you.
The author has no problem badmouthing the victim and her "hysterical" friends & family, criticizing the cops investigation. Even when theres logical reasoning for their actions, she alludes to this grand conspiracy by law enforcement (including FBI) against poor Bradley. My personal opinion is that she has a school girl crush on Brad Cooper.
The book itself was confusing. Most true crime books follow a formula & have a cohesive narrative. This book is all over the place filled with speculation, misdirection & gossip. It reads like it's a email from the defendants new girlfriend trying to convince her mom that he's not such a bad guy & it's everyone else's fault but his.
I don't recommend this book.
After finishing the book, I googled him. He was granted a new trial & even though he swore that he would fight til he got justice & proved his innocence...he admitted to killing his wife, signed over custody of his kids, & pleaded guilty to 2nd degree murder for a reduced sentence of 12-15 years.
The author has no problem badmouthing the victim and her "hysterical" friends & family, criticizing the cops investigation. Even when theres logical reasoning for their actions, she alludes to this grand conspiracy by law enforcement (including FBI) against poor Bradley. My personal opinion is that she has a school girl crush on Brad Cooper.
The book itself was confusing. Most true crime books follow a formula & have a cohesive narrative. This book is all over the place filled with speculation, misdirection & gossip. It reads like it's a email from the defendants new girlfriend trying to convince her mom that he's not such a bad guy & it's everyone else's fault but his.
I don't recommend this book.
After finishing the book, I googled him. He was granted a new trial & even though he swore that he would fight til he got justice & proved his innocence...he admitted to killing his wife, signed over custody of his kids, & pleaded guilty to 2nd degree murder for a reduced sentence of 12-15 years.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2015
Lynne Blanchard does masterful work in dissecting and analyzing every charge against Brad Cooper and she has backed it up with copies of court testimony that was entered into evidence.
The Cary Police Department and the prosecution based this case on neighborhood gossip, misstated facts and innuendo and had no fact-based circumstantial evidence. . The Cary Police Department destroyed evidence that may have produced another suspect but investigators never looked at anyone other than Brad Cooper.
Lynne Blanchard takes you on a journey throughout the course of the investigation and trial of Brad Cooper, unraveling lies which the prosecution was allowed to put forth by way of Judge Gessner, a former policeman. She writes with meticulous detail and hard-core journalistic insight to show how Brad Cooper was set up from the beginning.
Right before the publication of this book, Cary Police Department (Safest City in America) Chief Patricia Bazemore retired in July and Judge Gessner stepped down from the bench and announced he is going to work with the Sheriff’s Department.
The Cary Police Department and the prosecution based this case on neighborhood gossip, misstated facts and innuendo and had no fact-based circumstantial evidence. . The Cary Police Department destroyed evidence that may have produced another suspect but investigators never looked at anyone other than Brad Cooper.
Lynne Blanchard takes you on a journey throughout the course of the investigation and trial of Brad Cooper, unraveling lies which the prosecution was allowed to put forth by way of Judge Gessner, a former policeman. She writes with meticulous detail and hard-core journalistic insight to show how Brad Cooper was set up from the beginning.
Right before the publication of this book, Cary Police Department (Safest City in America) Chief Patricia Bazemore retired in July and Judge Gessner stepped down from the bench and announced he is going to work with the Sheriff’s Department.
June 1, 2018
This was very well researched, although extremely one-sided. I'd heard of the case on a podcast before so knew about it already and was interested to see what conclusions this came to. The tech evidence appears to be totally dubious but for me, the judge's conduct was just appalling. AND he's still in the job at time of publication ?? I didn't approve of what Brad did at the end but could sort of understand his reasons. The fact he was easily granted an appeal, mostly down to the dubious misconduct by the trial judge, but the retrial would be heard by the same judge is just jawdropping. How is that permitted ?? And how is it allowed that, even when prosecutors can be proved to have acted dishonestly that there's no way to prosecute THEM ?? For real ?? The police don't come out of this smelling of roses, either. The fact one idiot managed to wipe Nancy's phone clean without examining it first was just one of many amongst their whole catalogue of errors. It would be funny if it wasn't such a serious investigation and crime being investigated.
As for the murdered woman herself, along with her husband and her circle of friends, they all seemed happy to be screwing around with each other and I'd certainly wonder about Bella's paternity. Not one of them has a redeeming feature among them if you ask me !! Nancy's friends seem to have been on a witch-hunt and didn't mind lying at the drop of a hat but considering their personal actions, it's hardly a shocker that they'll all lie with impunity.
The author could do with investing in a decent proofreader or editor because the presentation is more than patchy. She doesn't use apostrophes correctly and then suddenly does, so appears to be aware of the difference. The same with using capital letters one minute and then not....Maps or Defense......Garry Beard's name was spelled 2 differing ways in one paragraph and another person was suddenly Hanna morphing from Hannah. I had to flick back to see if she was yet another character featured, since there are a LOT. So it doesn't help the reader at all if names are then misspelt !!
I'd read another by her, although I'd hope it was better checked than this one is.
As for the murdered woman herself, along with her husband and her circle of friends, they all seemed happy to be screwing around with each other and I'd certainly wonder about Bella's paternity. Not one of them has a redeeming feature among them if you ask me !! Nancy's friends seem to have been on a witch-hunt and didn't mind lying at the drop of a hat but considering their personal actions, it's hardly a shocker that they'll all lie with impunity.
The author could do with investing in a decent proofreader or editor because the presentation is more than patchy. She doesn't use apostrophes correctly and then suddenly does, so appears to be aware of the difference. The same with using capital letters one minute and then not....Maps or Defense......Garry Beard's name was spelled 2 differing ways in one paragraph and another person was suddenly Hanna morphing from Hannah. I had to flick back to see if she was yet another character featured, since there are a LOT. So it doesn't help the reader at all if names are then misspelt !!
I'd read another by her, although I'd hope it was better checked than this one is.
October 25, 2015
The writing was poor and very slanted. I prefer books that lay out the facts without all the obvious bias.
The story in and of itself might be interesting. The book is not.
The story in and of itself might be interesting. The book is not.
October 13, 2015
A complete dissection of the conviction of Brad Cooper and a detailed examination of all the speculative evidence
I followed the Brad Cooper trial back in April 2011 when it was being televised on a local news website in Raleigh, NC. Over time I found the lack of credible evidence disturbing at best, and I was having a hard time trying to reconcile why Brad was being charged in the first place. Nothing seemed to tie him to the crime, crime scene, and none of the “evidence” seemed at all conclusive in any way to me. Then the video stream was blocked out due for “national security” reasons. It was during this time that the prosecution’s “smoking gun” evidence was presented… the 42 second Google Map search. But more about that in a minute.
The author goes through in meticulous detail the entire history of identification of suspects, collection of “evidence”, and the presentation of “evidence” that resulted in the conviction of Brad Cooper by a jury of 12 of his peers. After a while the errors and manipulations of this process become readily apparent as Lynne shows how the stories mutate over time into a collection of complete fabricated evidence that bears little resemblance to the original statements gathered. In essence the reader is left with the conclusion that there is NO evidence at all; that the police and prosecution have built this case on nothing substantial, not even circumstantial, but complete fabrications, speculations, and inferences from the information gathered during the investigation. She does an effective job to show that the police never considered any alternate theories during the investigation, and essentially built a case around what they decided from the beginning: that Brad was guilty.
In addition to eviscerating the evidence completely, Lynne goes on to documented the evidence that was not allowed to be presented at trial, and in my opinion even proves that the only evidence that could point to Brad’s guilt, the “smoking gun” I referenced previously, must have be physically planted on the computer. In fact chapter 19 of the book goes into this with excruciating detail. By the conclusion of this chapter I was convinced without a doubt that Brad’s computer was compromised and that the smoking gun evidence presented by the prosecution was completely planted by someone.
This book also points out the many ways that basic protocols for evidence handling during the investigative phase was incompetently executed by the police department and how the Judge ruled against the defense so much so during the trial that the defense was basically crippled. Luckily the appeals court wasn’t as biased as the trial judge that a new trial was ordered, but as the reader you can’t help feeling that Brad was left with no position but to accept a plea agreement in order to avoid being retried represented by a less-than-optimal court-appointed attorney.
In essence, if this book is a true representation of the investigative, prosecutorial and judicial aspects of the justice process in this country then it leaves me as the reader having a complete lack of confidence in the justice process… where a person can convicted with no direct evidence to the crime or even simply prevented from disputing the planted “evidence” at trial due to an arguably biased judge who ruled against the defense at every turn.
If this book had existed prior to the appeal case being heard, perhaps the decision to accept the plea would have been reconsidered by Brad as I believe it is detailed enough that the contents of this book could have been used by a competent attorney to mount an effective defense with preferable an unbiased judge presiding.
On its own, this book should be considered a warning of how the justice process can be manipulated and construed in the favor of any side that has sufficient resources to accomplish this. For those who decided prematurely that Brad Cooper perpetrated this crime I challenge them to go through this book detail by detail and be able to say at the end they are still convinced the evidence points to his guilt, because for me, it doesn’t.
If this is supposed to be a country where a defendent is "innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" then this book demonstrates how the entire system can be corrupted against the defendent and a conviction can be obtained through merely a manipulation of witness statements and speculative evidence. This book should be required reading for anyone considering a career in criminal justice fields.
I followed the Brad Cooper trial back in April 2011 when it was being televised on a local news website in Raleigh, NC. Over time I found the lack of credible evidence disturbing at best, and I was having a hard time trying to reconcile why Brad was being charged in the first place. Nothing seemed to tie him to the crime, crime scene, and none of the “evidence” seemed at all conclusive in any way to me. Then the video stream was blocked out due for “national security” reasons. It was during this time that the prosecution’s “smoking gun” evidence was presented… the 42 second Google Map search. But more about that in a minute.
The author goes through in meticulous detail the entire history of identification of suspects, collection of “evidence”, and the presentation of “evidence” that resulted in the conviction of Brad Cooper by a jury of 12 of his peers. After a while the errors and manipulations of this process become readily apparent as Lynne shows how the stories mutate over time into a collection of complete fabricated evidence that bears little resemblance to the original statements gathered. In essence the reader is left with the conclusion that there is NO evidence at all; that the police and prosecution have built this case on nothing substantial, not even circumstantial, but complete fabrications, speculations, and inferences from the information gathered during the investigation. She does an effective job to show that the police never considered any alternate theories during the investigation, and essentially built a case around what they decided from the beginning: that Brad was guilty.
In addition to eviscerating the evidence completely, Lynne goes on to documented the evidence that was not allowed to be presented at trial, and in my opinion even proves that the only evidence that could point to Brad’s guilt, the “smoking gun” I referenced previously, must have be physically planted on the computer. In fact chapter 19 of the book goes into this with excruciating detail. By the conclusion of this chapter I was convinced without a doubt that Brad’s computer was compromised and that the smoking gun evidence presented by the prosecution was completely planted by someone.
This book also points out the many ways that basic protocols for evidence handling during the investigative phase was incompetently executed by the police department and how the Judge ruled against the defense so much so during the trial that the defense was basically crippled. Luckily the appeals court wasn’t as biased as the trial judge that a new trial was ordered, but as the reader you can’t help feeling that Brad was left with no position but to accept a plea agreement in order to avoid being retried represented by a less-than-optimal court-appointed attorney.
In essence, if this book is a true representation of the investigative, prosecutorial and judicial aspects of the justice process in this country then it leaves me as the reader having a complete lack of confidence in the justice process… where a person can convicted with no direct evidence to the crime or even simply prevented from disputing the planted “evidence” at trial due to an arguably biased judge who ruled against the defense at every turn.
If this book had existed prior to the appeal case being heard, perhaps the decision to accept the plea would have been reconsidered by Brad as I believe it is detailed enough that the contents of this book could have been used by a competent attorney to mount an effective defense with preferable an unbiased judge presiding.
On its own, this book should be considered a warning of how the justice process can be manipulated and construed in the favor of any side that has sufficient resources to accomplish this. For those who decided prematurely that Brad Cooper perpetrated this crime I challenge them to go through this book detail by detail and be able to say at the end they are still convinced the evidence points to his guilt, because for me, it doesn’t.
If this is supposed to be a country where a defendent is "innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" then this book demonstrates how the entire system can be corrupted against the defendent and a conviction can be obtained through merely a manipulation of witness statements and speculative evidence. This book should be required reading for anyone considering a career in criminal justice fields.
October 13, 2015
GREAT BOOK to read about our North Carolina Judicial System and what
happened in Wake County during a murder investigation and a tainted trial which convicted an innocent man of murder. One must read it and make their own judgment about what can happen to anyone at any time when they happen to get caught up in the system. There was NO EVIDENCE presented even though the State wasted many weeks and millions of dollars presenting all kinds of gossip, gut feelings and he said/she said which should have NOT been allowed in the first place. The FACTS will probably SHOCK most people as so many tend to
think that IF a person is indicted then he/she must be GUILTY. This case reveals just how much CORRUPTION AND COVER UP can take place within the government run agencies and cause INNOCENT people to be convicted of a crime that they are NOT GUILTY of.
happened in Wake County during a murder investigation and a tainted trial which convicted an innocent man of murder. One must read it and make their own judgment about what can happen to anyone at any time when they happen to get caught up in the system. There was NO EVIDENCE presented even though the State wasted many weeks and millions of dollars presenting all kinds of gossip, gut feelings and he said/she said which should have NOT been allowed in the first place. The FACTS will probably SHOCK most people as so many tend to
think that IF a person is indicted then he/she must be GUILTY. This case reveals just how much CORRUPTION AND COVER UP can take place within the government run agencies and cause INNOCENT people to be convicted of a crime that they are NOT GUILTY of.
October 14, 2015
I watched and read about the disappearance and murder of Nancy Cooper with a naive viewpoint of the investigation process. I assumed if the police had a suspect then there was good reason. As the case went on I began to question that process in Cary, NC. Why were there inconsistencies with witness statements? Why were possible sightings not followed up?As the trial started I wondered even more, questioning everything from the decorative ducks being mentioned to why computer information was misleading. This book brings all of that information to light along with many other details I missed.
Lynne Blanchard has done an amazing job of providing a very detailed look at a murder investigation and trial that shows Brad Cooper most certainly was not treated as innocent until proven guilty.
Lynne Blanchard has done an amazing job of providing a very detailed look at a murder investigation and trial that shows Brad Cooper most certainly was not treated as innocent until proven guilty.
November 17, 2015
Blanchard lays out a compelling case for the complete injustice and lack of fairness Brad Cooper endured before, during, and after his murder trial. It is horrifying to think this could happen to anyone in this country with little recourse. The police, prosecutors, and judge showed complete and utter incompetence throughout this case and possibly more nefarious objectives.
I strongly suggest reading this book for anyone in the criminal justice arena or contemplating going into it. However, be prepared to lower your opinion of those tasked with upholding the integrity of our justice system.
I strongly suggest reading this book for anyone in the criminal justice arena or contemplating going into it. However, be prepared to lower your opinion of those tasked with upholding the integrity of our justice system.
April 16, 2016
Very Disappointing
This book was utterly confusing. Parts of it were reiterated several times, yet there was no continuing narrative. The author seemed unqualified to write this, given what I learned from the scant biographical information provided. Readers without a legal background will have to flounder as I did, with no way to determine the accuracy of the information provided. The author's passion for justice is admirable, but such passion can lead a reader to question the author's impartiality when investigating the particulars of the story being told.
This book was utterly confusing. Parts of it were reiterated several times, yet there was no continuing narrative. The author seemed unqualified to write this, given what I learned from the scant biographical information provided. Readers without a legal background will have to flounder as I did, with no way to determine the accuracy of the information provided. The author's passion for justice is admirable, but such passion can lead a reader to question the author's impartiality when investigating the particulars of the story being told.
June 5, 2020
Another book by this author where she defends to perpetrator. The bashing of the VICTIM and her family is tasteless and tacky. Don’t waste your money or time with this; he admitted he killed her so.....next. 🙄🙄🙄🤦🏻♀️
May 12, 2020
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November 7, 20227393929
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2016
I chose to read this book because of how much I liked absence of evidence. I was really into this book in the first few chapters, but I quickly noticed a lot of repetition, and it started to get boring because of the repetition and the author would tell us about the situation then show the exact thing she told us about from the court transcripts, or police reports or vice versa. that is the only thing that really made me disinterested in the book. other than that she did a great job explaining everything she went into very good detail, and I would defiantly read another one of her books! It's sad that things like wrongful convictions happen here so much I've been coming across more and more of them each day. maybe with books like this we can help prevent future wrongful convictions, and help get old ones over turned or at least looked into. Thank you Lynne for doing what you do to help these people!
April 9, 2016
If you're into Making a Murderer, this is the book for you. I found out about Lynne's book after looking at her website, Stop Wrongful Convictions. https://stopwrongfulconvictions.wordp...
This is a story about a man who was totally backed into a corner by the legal system and his murdered wife's so-called 'friends'. Something stinks in this town.
What I most enjoyed about the story was seeing how one's personal computer can be used against you, even when you really haven't done anything wrong. It is also a case study in the ignorance of the courts, that is, elected judges, when it comes to technology. Or possibly not, if this judge was in the prosecution's corner from the very beginning.
And you won't believe the ending.
It's a quick read.
This is a story about a man who was totally backed into a corner by the legal system and his murdered wife's so-called 'friends'. Something stinks in this town.
What I most enjoyed about the story was seeing how one's personal computer can be used against you, even when you really haven't done anything wrong. It is also a case study in the ignorance of the courts, that is, elected judges, when it comes to technology. Or possibly not, if this judge was in the prosecution's corner from the very beginning.
And you won't believe the ending.
It's a quick read.
January 15, 2016
Naprawdę bardzo dobra książka obnażająca amerykański wymiar raczej niesprawiedliwości. Pokazuje jak można skazać człowieka na podstawie plotek i pomówień. Całość jest dość przerażająca i porażająca. Dobrze napisana, niepozostawiająca czytelnika obojętnym.
November 24, 2015
Had the great opportunity to interview this author. She brings up some great questions about our judicial system.
April 27, 2016
Scary if you believe in the judicial system
When you read of the incompetent and prejudicial local and federal police, lawyers and judge, it shakes your faith in the system.
When you read of the incompetent and prejudicial local and federal police, lawyers and judge, it shakes your faith in the system.
November 13, 2016
Great Read
Brad lost everything. I feel horrible for him. No way to even defend himself. Kudos to the author. I will not forget Brad and Nancy and their girls.
Brad lost everything. I feel horrible for him. No way to even defend himself. Kudos to the author. I will not forget Brad and Nancy and their girls.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews