SANTIAGO (McCREIGHT) TwoHearts - 1 yo (2010)/ Convicted: James R. Cooley - Spokane WA

Spokane police say the boyfriend of a Spokane woman confessed to investigators that he beat her infant son to death while he was supposed to be caring for the child.Police charged 22-year-old James R. Cooley with first degree murder late Tuesday night.
Police say Cooley confessed to beating his girlfriend's 1-year-old son when he was supposed to be watching the child and his 5-year-old brother while the mother was gone."He was babysitting the children from about 10:00 or 10:30 this morning until about 4:00 o'clock this afternoon," said Lt. Dave McGovern with Spokane Police Major Crimes. "Mom did return and he left shortly after that, before mom discovered that the baby was lifeless.Investigators say Cooley told the woman the baby was sleeping.Medics were called to the apartment near the corner of Market and Everett just before 5 p.m. where they found the 1-year-old unresponsive and blue in color."When she came back, her 5-year-old showed signs of being assaulted and she found the the 1-year-old on the floor - not showing signs of life," said Sgt. Rick Dobrow with the Spokane Police Department.Medics tried to revive the infant but were unable to. The child was pronounced dead at Sacred Heart upon arrival.Officers say the mother took the 5-year-old and followed medics to the hospital. Police tracked down Cooley at his mother's house about an hour after medics were called to the apartment."We arrived at Sacred Heart, talked to the mother, talked to the little boy and then patrol was able to locate the suspect," said Lt. McGovern. "He was detained and was taken to major crimes offices and investigators were interviewing him for most of the evening."It was during those interviews that investigators say Cooley confessed to hitting the child."Basically it was a blunt force injury caused by him with his hands, so there was no weapon involved in this," said Lt. McGovern.Police say this isn't the first time Cooley has been a suspect in a child abuse case. He is still under investigation for shaking a previous girlfriend's 6-month-old baby back in May."It's the same kind of circumstances, just different players," said Lt. McGovern.Investigators say the 6-month-old in the previous case is now blind and has not completely recovered from the assault.Neighbors says from what they've seen, the woman is a good mother and that they are sickened by the news."We see him with the mom all the time, she's a great mom," said neighbor Joey Richardson. "Her kids love her, it's awful, absolutely awful."Police say Cooley had been dating the woman for the past six months.Sgt. Dobrow says calls like this are some of the hardest for officers to deal with."It's absolutely the most difficult and I think you're feeling the same emotions all of us are."An autopsy has been scheduled for Wednesday.

Police investigating the beating death of a 1-year-old boy in Spokane have arrested the mother's boyfriend, and said the suspect has been accused of previous violence against children.Police Lt. Dave McGovern said James Cooley, 22, confessed during questioning and has been jailed for investigation of murder.Cooley had been baby-sitting the baby and the infant's 5-year-old brother Tuesday at an apartment. When the mother, Rebecca McCollough, came home, the older boy was bleeding from the lip and she found the baby blue in the face. Medics where unable to revive the baby, named Santiago, and he was declared dead at Sacred Heart Medical Center.McCollough told reporters that the older child told her Cooley hit him and threw him in the shower. The boy said that made the baby cry, and the baby was also struck."Basically it was a blunt force injury caused by him with his hands, so there was no weapon involved in this," McGovern said.McCollough told reporters that she had no idea her boyfriend had a violent side.But McGovern said this is the second time this year Cooley has been accused of beating a girlfriend's baby. Detectives are still investigating a case involving another woman and child in May that left the baby blind and brain-damaged.

October 5, 2010 in City
Suspect in baby’s death faces more charges
Meghann M. Cuniff The Spokesman-Review

A man accused of beating to death his girlfriend’s 1-year-old son has been charged with a previous assault on another child.

James R. “J.R.” Cooley, 22, already jailed on $1 million bond for first-degree murder, was ordered held on an additional $250,000 bail Tuesday on two counts of first-degree assault for the beating of a baby boy in May.

Cooley was considered a person of interest in the assault, which left the boy mentally disabled, since it was reported May 5, but he was not charged until he confessed during a police interrogation after his arrest for murder last week, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Monday.

Cooley wrote a letter of apology to that baby’s mother, April Fagan, during the interrogation, saying, “I’m so sorry for what happened. I didn’t think it would hurt him that bad,” according to the affidavit.

Cooley told police Sept. 29 that he’d shaken the baby twice - the first time about three days before the boy, identified in documents by initials A.G., was hospitalized. Cooley said the baby stopped crying each time, but he knew the child was injured the first time “when A.G. woke up from his nap with vomit on his face,” according to the affidavit.

“When asked why he did this, Cooley stated, ‘I was mad. I’ve been mad for months,’” the affidavit said.

Court records show Cooley has a history of allegedly violent behavior, including reports of an assault on his sister and an order for protection granted in Kitsap County against his ex-girlfriend, Kristyn M. Brown, and their two children, ages 1 and 2. In an affidavit signed Jan. 26, Brown said Cooley had hit her and their son and threatened to kill her. A judge signed a restraining order in February. Three months later, Cooley had moved in with A.G.’s mother, who described him to police as an old high school friend, at 2708 W. 14th Ave., in Spokane

Cooley’s sister and mother also lived there, as well as other children, police said.

Fagan told police May 5 that her son had fallen from a couch, but physicians said his injuries were caused by abuse.

Fagan said Cooley was a likely suspect and that he’d yelled at the boy to stop crying and shut up.

Cooley’s sister, Daisha Fry, told police Cooley was attending to the baby in his bassinet when the child stopped crying suddenly. Fry told police that wasn’t normal.

“Daisha stated that Cooley does have a temper and has had problems with his own children, who now live on the coast,” according to the affidavit. “Daisha stated CPS had been involved with Cooley in the past, but Cooley had been cleared by them.”

Spokane police confirmed with Child Protective Services that Cooley had been exonerated.

Cooley had initially denied hurting the child, and a child assault specialist told police she couldn’t determine when the injuries were inflicted.

Each witness was interviewed multiple times.

“After each interview, there were no admissions of guilt or other evidence to eliminate the other adults in the home,” according to the affidavit. “The case involving A.G. was left open and your affiant made numerous attempts to contact Cooley through family members. Cooley never responded and family members stated they did not know where he was staying.”

Turns out, Cooley was living with a new girlfriend and her two children in a Hillyard apartment. Police say one of those children, 1-year-old Santiago Two Hearts, was beaten to death in the apartment Sept. 28 by Cooley. Police identified the boy as Santiago McCreight, but his family confirmed his true last name Tuesday.

Cooley told police he was upset with the boy’s crying and his own lack of marijuana, according to court documents.

Police said he faces additional assault charges for assaulting Santiago’s 4-year-old brother.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/oct/05/suspect-babys-beating-death-faces-more-charges/

25 06-22-2011 CONFIDNTL REPORT IN SEALED ENVELOPE Confidntl Report In Sealed Envelope
Health Care Records
26 06-22-2011 ORDER SETTING TRIAL DATE
JDG0016 Order Setting Trial Date
Judge Salvatore F. Cozza 03-05-2012TA
27 06-23-2011 OR DETERM COMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL
JDG0016 Or Determ Competency To Stand Trial
Judge Salvatore F. Cozza


http://dw.courts.wa.gov/index.cfm?fa=home.casesummary&crt_itl_nu=S32&casenumber=10-1-02997-5&searchtype=sName&token=21EDD58DCCC1E744AAA5A604248DEB0E&dt=0C04CD9FFF4AC4C1E65C67DACAD6F92D&courtClassCode=S&casekey=153187850&courtname=SPOKANE SUPERIOR

Spokane child killer gets 36 years in prison

Thomas Clouse, The Spokesman-Review
August 20, 2012

A Spokane man who pleaded guilty to killing a 1-year-old and beating another infant until he was blind and brain damaged was sentenced today to more than 36 years in prison.

James R. Cooley, 24, apologized the families of the children he abused and said he wished he could bring the dead child back, his attorney Mark Hannibal said. “But there is no way to do that.”

Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno sentenced Cooley to the high end of both second-degree murder for the dead child and first-degree assault for the toddler Cooley blinded.

“There is no amount of time I can give you that will make sense of this or restore what these people lost,” Moreno said.

Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Patrick Johnson said Cooley was dating a woman in May 2010 who had a 5-month-old son. The investigation began when that child was rushed to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center with severe head injuries.

“He beat that child blind. While he was under investigation for that beating, he finds a new girlfriend with a 4- and 1-year-old,” Johnson said. “He’s alone with them and the baby starts crying and he punched the 1-year-old to death.”

Spokane Police interviewed the 4-year-old and the boy was able to describe how Cooley beat his little brother to death, Johnson said. The four-year-old also suffered a split lip during the deadly assault on his brother.

When asked in September 2010 by police why he beat the 1-year-old, Cooley “said he was irritated because he was out of pot,” Johnson said.

When Spokane detectives reviewed the body of 1-year-old Santiago Two Hearts, they found severe bruising around his mouth, both eyes blackened and swollen and a bright-blue bite mark on his left shoulder. His ribcage showed a partial hand print.

The 4-year-old later told another detective that he and his brother were in the bedroom for nap time when Cooley entered because Santiago was crying.

“When asked to show how his brother was punched, (the boy) balled his right hand into a fist and punched the ER bed he was laying on as hard as he could,” according to court records.

In the earlier case, a young mother told detectives that she had re-acquainted with Cooley, who was a high school friend. But two other adults also lived in the residence at 2708 W. 14th Ave.

After the baby was taken to the hospital, the mother, April Fagan, told investigators that her child had fallen off a couch and sustained the serious injuries.

“Attending physicians stated a fall from this height would not have caused the subdural hematomas found on (the boy’s) brain and eyes … that these injuries were most likely the result of shaken baby syndrome.”

The mother said Cooley was the most likely person to have injured the child. He, too, initially said the child fell off the couch.

Cooley admitted that he tossed the child in the air in a playful manner but stopped when the child cried. He denied injuring the child.

A few months later, detectives learned Cooley had been charged with a second assault that resulted in the death of Santiago.

Now retired detective Terry Ferguson re-interviewed Cooley about the first child. “Cooley stated he did not tell the detectives the truth during prior interviews because he was scared,” court records state. “Cooley stated. ‘I was mad. I’ve been mad for months.’”

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/aug/20/spokane-child-killer-gets-36-years-prison/

I hope this murdering asshat never gets out of jail. He is a certified baby killer and will never change.