Anthony & Nathaniel Cook

Background

Anthony Cook and Nathaniel Cook were brothers and long-haul truck drivers who committed a murder spree in the Toledo, Ohio, area that killed nine people during the 1970s and early 1980s. The killings began in May 1980 and lasted until October 1981, when Anthony Cook was arrested in the shooting death of Realtor Peter Sawicki. For 17 years, DNA evidence was later used to link the brothers to the other crimes through confessions and subsequent DNA testing.

Frank Stiles, a retired Toledo Police detective and the lead investigator during the killings, later described the investigation that ended in 2000 when confessions made by the Cooks cleared up eight cold-case murders and other unsolved crimes. Stiles said: “It was a scary time to be in Toledo.” He added: “I knew the streets would not be safe until we got these killers locked up.”

Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates suggested DNA testing be used to link the Cooks to some unsolved crimes in 1997. A search warrant was obtained for the brothers’ blood, and tests indicated they raped Mr. Gordon’s girlfriend. Stiles said that, despite being obtained 17 years earlier, the DNA evidence was instrumental in getting indictments against the Cooks and bringing long-sought resolution to the cases.

Mr. Stiles worked as director of security at a local department store chain when Mrs. Bates called him in 1997 with the idea of using DNA. Stiles later went to work for Mrs. Bates in 1999 as the first investigator in the office. Stiles said he put his spare time to good use about three years ago to work on the book, researching the case by combing through police records, court transcripts, newspaper clippings, and other documents. He met face to face with family members of the victims and victims who survived attacks to get their approval for the project and gather more information about the victims themselves. Stiles said: “Among the things that I wanted to accomplish was to write a little about what these kids did while they were alive.” He also said: “In some cases there was not a lot I could tell about them because they hadn’t lived long.”

Sharon Backes Wright, whose daughter Dawn was the youngest victim, began reading the book but put it down when she got to the chapter on her daughter. Wright said: “The book is difficult to read. [The Cook brothers] were the cruelest to her, and I am not saying that because I am her mother. She was an innocent 12-year-old girl,”

The offence

Overall pattern and victims

Anthony and Nathaniel Cook committed a killing spree that left nine people dead. They preyed on young couples in parked cars, raping the women before killing them. Investigators suspected the crimes involved racial motivation because all the victims were white and the Cook brothers were black. Tom Ross, a retired Toledo police detective and investigator for the prosecutor’s office, said: “They believe race was a factor in the crimes.” Ross also said: “All the victims were white, which prompted investigators to wonder about racial motivations.” Ross further stated: “[Anthony Cook] didn't look for black victims, and I'm sure there had to be plenty of opportunities to grab black victims out there.” Ross added: “That's a heavy accusation without him coming out and saying that, but he's out selecting his victims. Why are all the victims he selected white? I think you have to ask that.”

Judge Charles Wittenberg said: “They created an atmosphere of fear and terror in our community.”

The spree ended in October 1981 when Anthony Cook was arrested in the shooting death of Realtor Peter Sawicki.

May 14, 1980: Thomas Gordon and his girlfriend

On May 14, 1980, Thomas Gordon, 24, and his 18-year-old girlfriend were abducted in North Toledo. The couple was abducted and taken to western Lucas County. Mr. Gordon was shot in the stomach. His girlfriend was raped and stabbed but survived.

In 2000 court proceedings described by the Associated Press, the Gordon murder was described as having involved Anthony and Nathaniel Cook forcing the couple into the backseat at gunpoint, shattering the passenger-side window of Mr. Gordon's 1973 Nova, driving them to a field off Raab Road in western Lucas County, shooting Mr. Gordon dead, and taking turns raping his girlfriend. The girlfriend was stabbed repeatedly with an ice-pick until she feigned death. Mr. Gordon was placed in the trunk and the girlfriend was left in the backseat of the car, which was abandoned off McLean Street in North Toledo. The girlfriend made it to a nearby house for help and survived the ordeal. The passenger-side window of Mr. Gordon's 1973 Nova was shattered by one of the brothers, and the young couple was forced into the backseat at gunpoint. They were driven to a field off Raab Road in western Lucas County, where the Cook brothers shot Mr. Gordon and took turns raping his girlfriend.

1973: Vickie Lynn Small, 22

Anthony Cook gave Vicki Lynn Small, 22, a ride after her car trouble on December 20, 1973, in a bad snowstorm. Police said she was sexually assaulted and fatally shot. Her body was found the same day in Ottawa Park. Anthony Cook also later confessed to the 1973 murder of Vickie Lynn Small, 22. It was stated that Cook committed the crime when he was 24 and before he went to prison for six years for an armed robbery conviction. His body was dumped in Ottawa Park after she and some friends had car trouble and Cook ended up giving Ms. Small a ride.

January 17, 1981: Connie Sue Thompson, 19

Connie Sue Thompson, 19, was picked up hitchhiking on Cherry Street near St. Vincent Medical Center on January 17, 1981. The Cooks drove her to western Lucas County, where she was sexually assaulted and murdered. Her body was discovered in a culvert under a road.

In the other narrative of the spree, it was described that on January 17, 1981, the brothers picked up hitchhiker Connie Thompson, 19, raped her until they tired of her, killed her, and dumped her violated body in a culvert.

January 27, 1981: Arnold Coates, 21, and Cheryl Bartlett, 18

Ten days after the Thompson killing, a young couple survived an attack after the brothers forced Arnold Coates, then 21, and Cheryl Bartlett, then 18, into a vacant garage at gunpoint in an alley behind Segur Avenue. They were shot but not fatally.

February 21, 1981: Dawn Rene Backes, 12

On February 21, 1981, Anthony Cook abducted Dawn Rene Backes, 12, on her way home from school. The Cooks took Dawn to an abandoned building where she was tortured, raped, and bludgeoned to death with a concrete block. The narrative also stated that Dawn Rene Backes was a Gesu Elementary School student and that she was raped and bludgeoned in the basement of a central-city theater. Sharon Backes Wright’s statement identified Dawn as her daughter and characterized her as “an innocent 12-year-old girl.”

The other narrative described the timeline as: Anthony Cook was driving home from work and saw the 12-year-old Gesu School pupil walking near the University of Toledo, grabbed her by the neck, forced her into his truck, stopped at an apartment to pick up Nathaniel, and then took Dawn to the former State Theater, 2460 Collingwood Blvd., where Anthony and Nathaniel tortured and raped her in the abandoned building before smashing her skull with a concrete block.

March 27, 1981: Scott Moulton, 21, and Denise Siotkowski, 22

On March 27, 1981, Anthony Cook shot dead Scott Moulton, 21, and Denise Siotkowski, 22. They were described as friends who worked together at the Centre Supermarket on Navarre Avenue and had planned to meet co-workers for drinks but never showed up. They were found in the car's trunk at the apartment complex in Oregon. Mr. Moulton had been shot four times and Ms. Siotkowski five. Police said Ms. Siotkowski had been sexually assaulted.

August 2, 1981: Daryle Cole, 31, and Stacey Balonek, 21

On August 2, 1981, Anthony Cook abducted Daryle Cole, 31, and his girlfriend Stacey Balonek, 21. They were later found in the truck of Mr. Cole’s car in North Toledo. They were beaten to death with a baseball bat. It was also described as the next killing being on Aug. 2 when Anthony Cook murdered Stacey Balonek, 21, and Daryle Cole, 21, after they had returned from a trip to Daytona Beach, Fla. Anthony Cook told police he saw them parked near Ms. Balonek’s home on Doyle Street, forced them at gunpoint into the trunk of Mr. Cole’s 1979 Pontiac Grand Prix, drove to the railroad tracks beneath the Central Avenue overpass, beat both to death with Mr. Cole’s aluminum baseball bat, and sexually assaulted Ms. Balonek.

September 18, 1981: Todd Sabo and Leslie Sawicki; Realtor Peter Sawicki

On September 18, 1981, Anthony Cook assaulted Todd Sabo and Leslie Sawicki while the pair sat in a van in an apartment complex parking lot. While Sabo fought with Anthony Cook, Sawicki escaped and telephoned police and also her father, Peter Sawicki. Peter Sawicki arrived on the scene first and was shot dead by Anthony Cook. Sabo was shot in the neck and shoulder but survived.

In the Associated Press narrative, it was stated that Anthony Cook attacked Todd Sabo and Leslie Sawicki on September 18, 1981, while they had been drinking in the back of a van parked at an apartment complex in the 4100 block of North Terrace View Drive near Richards Road. It was also stated that the Ottawa Hills police station was 0.2 of a mile from the scene, but officers were not sent because it was out of their jurisdiction; they referred the call to Toledo police, but Peter Sawicki arrived first. Anthony Cook fatally shot Mr. Sawicki in the throat, while Mr. The arrest of Anthony Cook for the murder halted the killing spree.

Investigation

Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates used blood samples and DNA evidence to link Anthony and Nathaniel Cook to the crimes, described as occurring in 1998, when a match was made placing the Cooks at the scene of Thomas Gordon’s death and linking them to the murder and rape and attempted murder of Gordon’s girlfriend. Charges were filed against them following the DNA match.

In April 2000, federal authorities sought information on whether the brothers’ admitted Toledo spree involved unsolved slayings outside Ohio. The Associated Press reported that Federal authorities want to know if the brothers had any involvement with unsolved slayings outside Ohio, and that FBI agents would meet Lucas County officials to look at information from the investigation into Anthony and Nathaniel Cook. The brothers acknowledged taking part in the slayings of nine people during the 1970s and early 1980s. The Associated Press also stated that Anthony Cook told police he was involved in all nine slayings and that Nathaniel Cook admitted he had a role in three killings. It stated that Anthony and Nathaniel Cook were long-haul truck drivers and spent time in several states.

Frank Stiles investigated and also connected Anthony Cook to the Gordon murder through an informant and eventually developed Anthony and his brother as prime suspects in the killings. It also stated that during the investigation of the Sawicki murder, Stiles connected Anthony Cook to the crime through an informant and eventually developed him and his brother as prime suspects in the killings.

Stiles described his retirement from the police department in 1990 and said: “I would never give up on this case,” and added: “I still have nightmares about the murders. No case had ever bothered me like this one.”

Arrest

Anthony Cook was arrested in the shooting death of Realtor Peter Sawicki. The arrest halted the killing spree.

Trial

Plea agreement and convictions in Lucas County Common Pleas Court

The Associated Press described plea proceedings in Lucas County Common Pleas Court in 2000, where the brothers avoided standing trial in the murder of Thomas Gordon under a plea agreement in which they admitted roles in the nine killings.

Anthony Cook pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in the 1980 shooting of Thomas Gordon. He was sentenced to life in prison for that killing and was already serving a life sentence without the chance of parole for the 1981 slaying of Peter Sawicki.

Nathaniel Cook pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping and one count of attempted murder of Thomas Gordon’s girlfriend. He was described as being eligible for parole after 18 years. The Cooks avoided standing trial in Mr. Gordon’s death and avoided possible life sentence exposure for Nathaniel.

Additional sentencing detail described elsewhere

It was also stated that in 2000, Anthony and Nathaniel Cook were convicted in Lucas County Common Pleas Court for their roles in the murder of Thomas Gordon and the attempted murder and kidnapping of his 18-year-old girlfriend. Anthony Cook, then 59, who was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Mr. Sawicki, was given an additional 20-years-to-life punishment. Nathaniel Cook, then 49, was given a 20-year sentence and would be released from prison in 10 years, with credit for time he already had served.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

The plea agreement resolved the nine killings described in the case coverage. The investigation involving DNA evidence and confessions ended with indictments and convictions in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

Federal authorities planned to investigate whether the brothers had involvement in unsolved slayings outside Ohio.

Aftermath

Frank Stiles wrote and worked on a book titled Evil Brothers: A True Crime Story, described as written about the police investigation that ended in 2000 when confessions made by the Cooks cleared up eight cold-case murders and other unsolved crimes. Stiles worked on the book by combing through police records, court transcripts, newspaper clippings, and other documents and met family members of victims and victims who survived attacks to gather more information about victims.

The case was linked to a DNA testing process involving blood samples and tests indicating rape of Mr. Gordon’s girlfriend. The Gordon murder was described as thought by police to be the first of the killings, with a lull in homicides described from 1973 until Gordon’s death in 1980, likely related to Anthony Cook being in prison on an armed robbery conviction from 1974 to 1979.

Other details

Anthony Cook was said to have confessed to the 1973 murder of Vickie Lynn Small, 22. Police said Vicky Lynn Small’s body was found in Ottawa Park on the same day she was sexually assaulted and fatally shot.

The Associated Press described that Anthony Cook and Nathaniel Cook spent time in several states. Anthony Cook spent time driving through Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Texas before he was sent to prison in 1981. Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates also suspected there were more victims outside of Toledo.

Dawn Rene Backes was described as a youngest victim whose mother, Sharon Backes Wright, said: “The book is difficult to read.

In the Gordon case coverage, a specific name appeared for Gordon’s girlfriend in relation to the DNA evidence: Sandra Podgorski.

The Associated Press described that Anthony Cook told police about a young woman he killed in 1973, and that Vicky Lynn Small’s death marked the oldest case the plea agreement was able to resolve.