Stephen Cooke Jr is a killer from Maryland who was convicted of the murder of Heidi Bernadzikowski
According to court documents Stephen Cooke Jr would call 911 and tell the operator that he found the body of his girlfriend of Heidi Bernadzikowski in 2000. Police would put forth an investigation however nothing would come from it
The parents of Heidi Bernadzikowski would sue Stephen Cooke Jr and right before the trial began Cooke Jr would agree to a settlement of over half a million dollars
The case of Heidi Bernadzikowski remained cold until the police were able to track down a man in Colorado who would eventually lead to Alexander Bennett who Heidi had scratched during the murder. Bennett would tell police that Heidi had attacked him at a bus stop but he had nothing to do with the murder
Police would also investigate Grant Lewis who was responsible for connecting Stephen Cooke Jr to Alexander Bennett.
Alexander Bennett would be questioned again after Grant Lewis would tell police that Bennett had confessed to him that he killed someone
Turns out Stephen Cooke Jr wanted Heidi Bernadzikowski dead in order to collect from the insurance payout of $700,000
Stephen Cooke Jr would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison
Alexander Bennett would be sentenced to thirty years in prison
Grant Lewis would be sentenced to life in prison
Stephen Cooke Jr Videos
Stephen Cooke Jr Case
A Baltimore County jury convicted a man on Thursday of plotting to kill his girlfriend in a murder-for-hire case that happened 15 years ago.
Stephen Michael Cooke Jr., 44, was found guilty of first-degree murder, solicitation of murder and conspiracy in the death of his girlfriend Heidi Bernadzikowski in 2000. The 24-year-old’s death remained an unsolved cold case for years.
According to an investigation, Cooke hired Alexander Bennett and Grant Lewis from Denver to kill Bernadzikowski, his girlfriend at the time. Prosecutors say Cooke’s motive was a $700,000 life insurance policy he had taken out on the victim a few months before she was found dead in their Dundalk home.
In 2012 Alexander Bennett was arrested — police found that his DNA matched evidence recovered from under Bernadzikowski’s fingernails.
Then, in March of 2014, Bennett pleaded guilty to first-degree-murder and testified against Lewis. Lewis was subsequently found guilty of first-degree-murder and conspiracy.
Investigators testified that when they arrived on the scene, the victim was neatly placed against the wall, her legs were crossed and her throat was slashed. Detectives described the scene as a house in disarray. The burglar alarm was deactivated and they said there were no signs of forced entry. Court documents state that Cooke changed the locks the day before the murder and left a key for Bennett under the mat. Bennett then let himself in and waited for Bernadzikowski to come home.
Prosecutors will seek a life sentence without the possibility of parole
