Richard Cooey
Encyclopedia
Richard Wade Cooey II was an American murderer. With Clinton Dickens, he was responsible for the murder of two women in Akron, Ohio
, in 1986.
, Ohio
. He lived there with his grandmother until high school; he then began living with his father in Stow
, a neighboring Akron suburb
, but only during the school year. Cooey graduated from Stow High School
in 1985 and enlisted in the U.S. Army
. The following summer he returned on leave
.
in Akron. One of the objects dropped by Dickens struck the car of a University of Akron
student, Wendy Offredo, age 21. Also in the car was another student, Dawn McCreery, age 20.
Pretending to rescue the two students, the three men kidnapped them. Cooey, then age 19, and Dickens, age 17, took the women to a field behind the Rolling Acres Mall
where they beat, stabbed, tortured and raped them for three and a half hours, eventually choking and beating them to death and abandoning the bodies. They also carved X's into the victims abdomens. Cooey and Dickens each blamed the other for the actual murders, Horonetz having left the car before the violence began. Cooey bragged about the murders to close friends and was eventually turned in to authorities. He was convicted on November 14, 1986, and subsequently sentenced to death. Dickens, a minor at the time of the murders, could not be sentenced to death under Ohio laws, and is serving a life sentence in prison. Horonetz, then age 18, and another suspect, Terry Grant (age 19), were charged with obstruction of justice in the case for participating in the destruction of evidence. Grant was sentenced to two years' probation. Horonetz was released on parole after serving one year of a three-to-fifteen year prison sentence for felonious assault. Cooey later claimed that he didn't kill or beat anyone. He admitted to raping the women, claiming he did "rape under duress". He also stated that he was under the influence of alcohol and illegal drugs such as cocaine and opium at the time. Court records showed that Cooey had a very rough upbringing. His father, Richard Cooey Sr. would abuse him in gruesome ways on a regular basis. He spent his teen years living with his grandmother, Audrey Cooey. Both of them would occasionally visit him while he was on death row.
. On July 24, 2003, he was scheduled to be executed. In an interview, Cooey said that he had not planned to make a final statement. The execution was stayed, to allow further investigation in the case. Cooey attempted to escape from prison in February 2005, along with another prisoner named Maxwell White. They were spotted by guards when attempting to climb over a series of barbed wire fences. Following additional appeals, requests for clemency, and stays of execution, Cooey's final appeal was rejected. He argued that his obesity rendered lethal injection an inhumane form of execution. He claimed that because his veins were clogged with cholesterol, the first drug administered in lethal injections, a drug intended to induce paralysis to ensure the prisoner feels no pain, would have only partial effect, which would cause him to suffer greatly when the lethal drugs were administered. He also claimed that prison food
was responsible for his obesity. On the night of Monday, October 13, he chose to consume a last meal. The meal consisted of T-bone steak with A-1 sauce, onion rings, French fries, four eggs over easy, toast with butter, hash browns, a pint of rocky road ice cream, a Mountain Dew soft drink and authentic bear claw pastries from the bakery. He ate until shortly after midnight while watching local television. Cooey spent most of the night sitting on his bed and pacing quietly in his cell. He fell asleep at 4:06 a.m. in the morning of Tuesday, October 14, then woke at 5:20 a.m. and did not eat breakfast. He later met with an attorney and a spiritual adviser. The McCreery family chose to witness the execution, and the Offredo family as well as his own chose not to attend. When asked if he had any final words, he angrily said "You (expletive) haven't paid any attention to anything I've said in the last 22 years, why would anyone pay any attention to anything I've had to say now?". At 10:20 a.m. the warden signaled the start of the flow of drugs. One put Cooey to sleep, a second paralyzed him, and a third stopped his heart. He tapped his fingers on the gurney as the process unfolded. He then died at 10:28. A black hearse parked in the courtyard then took his body to a mortuary. He was immediately cremated at the state's expense. According to his wishes, Cooey's ashes were taken to Ireland by his attorneys.
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, in 1986.
Youth
Cooey was born in AkronAkron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. He lived there with his grandmother until high school; he then began living with his father in Stow
Stow, Ohio
Stow is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 32,139 at the 2000 census and 33,899 as of 2008. It is a suburban community that is part of the Akron metropolitan area. Stow is located adjacent to several other suburban communities in Summit and Portage Counties...
, a neighboring Akron suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
, but only during the school year. Cooey graduated from Stow High School
Stow-Munroe Falls High School
Stow-Munroe Falls High School — often referred to as Stow High School — is a public high school located in Stow, Ohio, a suburb of Akron in Northeast Ohio. With an enrollment of nearly 2,000 students and a staff of more than 160, it is the only high school in the Stow-Munroe Falls City School...
in 1985 and enlisted in the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. The following summer he returned on leave
Leave (U.S. military)
In the United States Military, leave is permission to be away from one's unit for a specific period of time.- Entitlement :Under normal circumstance, all personnel are granted 30 days of leave per year. This time is usually used for vacations and other extended time periods away from the service...
.
Case
Early on the morning of September 1, 1986, Cooey, Dickens and Kenneth Horonetz, Jr. were throwing chunks of concrete off the Stoner Street Bridge onto U.S. Interstate 77Interstate 77
Interstate 77 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the old U.S...
in Akron. One of the objects dropped by Dickens struck the car of a University of Akron
University of Akron
The University of Akron is a coeducational public research university located in Akron, Ohio, United States. The university is part of the University System of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a small college affiliated with the Universalist Church. In 1913 ownership was transferred to the City of...
student, Wendy Offredo, age 21. Also in the car was another student, Dawn McCreery, age 20.
Pretending to rescue the two students, the three men kidnapped them. Cooey, then age 19, and Dickens, age 17, took the women to a field behind the Rolling Acres Mall
Rolling Acres Mall
Rolling Acres Mall was a retail mall located in the Rolling Acres area of Akron, Ohio, United States. Built in 1975 and expanded several times in its history, it once comprised more than 140 stores, including five anchor stores, a movie theater and a food court. The mall was closed off in 2008,...
where they beat, stabbed, tortured and raped them for three and a half hours, eventually choking and beating them to death and abandoning the bodies. They also carved X's into the victims abdomens. Cooey and Dickens each blamed the other for the actual murders, Horonetz having left the car before the violence began. Cooey bragged about the murders to close friends and was eventually turned in to authorities. He was convicted on November 14, 1986, and subsequently sentenced to death. Dickens, a minor at the time of the murders, could not be sentenced to death under Ohio laws, and is serving a life sentence in prison. Horonetz, then age 18, and another suspect, Terry Grant (age 19), were charged with obstruction of justice in the case for participating in the destruction of evidence. Grant was sentenced to two years' probation. Horonetz was released on parole after serving one year of a three-to-fifteen year prison sentence for felonious assault. Cooey later claimed that he didn't kill or beat anyone. He admitted to raping the women, claiming he did "rape under duress". He also stated that he was under the influence of alcohol and illegal drugs such as cocaine and opium at the time. Court records showed that Cooey had a very rough upbringing. His father, Richard Cooey Sr. would abuse him in gruesome ways on a regular basis. He spent his teen years living with his grandmother, Audrey Cooey. Both of them would occasionally visit him while he was on death row.
Execution
Cooey was confined at the Southern Ohio Correctional FacilitySouthern Ohio Correctional Facility
The Southern Ohio Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison in Lucasville, Ohio, United States. The prison was constructed in 1972 and currently contains the death house for Ohio where death row inmates are executed...
. On July 24, 2003, he was scheduled to be executed. In an interview, Cooey said that he had not planned to make a final statement. The execution was stayed, to allow further investigation in the case. Cooey attempted to escape from prison in February 2005, along with another prisoner named Maxwell White. They were spotted by guards when attempting to climb over a series of barbed wire fences. Following additional appeals, requests for clemency, and stays of execution, Cooey's final appeal was rejected. He argued that his obesity rendered lethal injection an inhumane form of execution. He claimed that because his veins were clogged with cholesterol, the first drug administered in lethal injections, a drug intended to induce paralysis to ensure the prisoner feels no pain, would have only partial effect, which would cause him to suffer greatly when the lethal drugs were administered. He also claimed that prison food
Prison food
Prison food refers to the meals served to prisoners while incarcerated in correctional institutions. While some prisons prepare their own food, many use staff from on-site catering companies.-United States:...
was responsible for his obesity. On the night of Monday, October 13, he chose to consume a last meal. The meal consisted of T-bone steak with A-1 sauce, onion rings, French fries, four eggs over easy, toast with butter, hash browns, a pint of rocky road ice cream, a Mountain Dew soft drink and authentic bear claw pastries from the bakery. He ate until shortly after midnight while watching local television. Cooey spent most of the night sitting on his bed and pacing quietly in his cell. He fell asleep at 4:06 a.m. in the morning of Tuesday, October 14, then woke at 5:20 a.m. and did not eat breakfast. He later met with an attorney and a spiritual adviser. The McCreery family chose to witness the execution, and the Offredo family as well as his own chose not to attend. When asked if he had any final words, he angrily said "You (expletive) haven't paid any attention to anything I've said in the last 22 years, why would anyone pay any attention to anything I've had to say now?". At 10:20 a.m. the warden signaled the start of the flow of drugs. One put Cooey to sleep, a second paralyzed him, and a third stopped his heart. He tapped his fingers on the gurney as the process unfolded. He then died at 10:28. A black hearse parked in the courtyard then took his body to a mortuary. He was immediately cremated at the state's expense. According to his wishes, Cooey's ashes were taken to Ireland by his attorneys.
External links
- United States 6th Circuit Court of Appeals opinions regarding Cooey