Mar 27, 2007 5:01 pm US/Central
Widow Hopes For Progress In Murder Mystery
Metra Police Officer Shot And Killed While On Duty 6 Months Ago
by Pamela Jones
(CBS)
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Thomas Cook was shot to death 6 months ago while on duty near a Metra station.
CBS
The wife of a Metra police officer killed last September isspeaking out Tuesday, asking the public to help her find the killer in the unsolved murder mystery.
As CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports, Metra officer Thomas Cook, 43, was shot and killed on the job six months ago Tuesday.
"They've taken a major person in our life away from us. A father figure, a husband a son and brother," said Pamela Cook, Cook's widow.
It is a crime Cook's wife still finds difficult to explain to their two children, especially their son.
"He says that God needed a new police officer up in heaven," she said. "I don't know if they understand. They just know that daddy's not coming home."
Police say Cook was sitting in his patrol car near the Metra station at 147th and Clinton streets when someone shot him twice in the head. Ironically he had been watching the station to keep passengers safe.
"Just a very happy person. Would do things more for people than he would do for himself," Pamela Cook said of her husband.
Cook was the first Metra officer to be killed in the line of duty. And although police have received leads, his family hoped they would get the clue that would solve this case by now.
The chief of the Orland Park Police Department heads the south suburban major crimes task force investigating the case. As of last year, they had questioned at least four persons of interest and recovered the suspected murder weapon.
Outside Cook's Dyer, Ind. home, reminders of his service wave for all to see. And his wife is grateful the community embraced her during her loss.
The family is holding a benefit next month in honor of the 4-year veteran of the Metra police force. It will be held at 115 Bourbon Street, 3359 West 115th Street in Merrionette Park, on Friday April 20 from 3 to 11 p.m. Tickets are $20 and the event is open to adults only.
Donations can be sent directly to the Thomas Cook Benefit Fund c/o MB Financial Bank in South Holland, Ind.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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