In the summer of 2014, a 28-year-old aspiring music artist named Nina Cook vanished from her life in Memphis, Tennessee. An African American woman with a reputation for being a vibrant and loving sister, she had dreams and ambitions that were tragically cut short. While it wasn't uncommon for her to travel, as weeks turned into months with no word, her family grew increasingly concerned and reported her missing on September 25, 2014.
The grim conclusion to their search came on October 7,
2014, when a cleaning crew discovered a decomposed body inside a vacant house on Sullivan Drive in the Whitehaven neighborhood. The home was being prepared for sale when the gruesome find was made in a back room. Through dental records, the remains were identified as Nina Cook. Evidence at the scene immediately suggested a brutal murder.
Due to the state of decomposition, it wasn't until February 9, 2015, that the Shelby County Medical Examiner officially ruled her death a homicide. The Memphis Police Department's Homicide Bureau took over the investigation, working to piece together a timeline of her last known activities. Her last tweet on June 27 mentioned going to the movies and a restaurant. Investigators also found that she had recently cashed a refund check from an online class and loaded $500 onto another individual's Green Dot card.
Despite their efforts, the case grew cold. No arrests have been made, and no suspect has been publicly identified. The investigation explored potential connections to another unsolved murder of a 39-year-old woman, Cekia Armstrong, whose body was found in a drainage ditch just a mile from where Nina's remains were discovered. However, a definitive link has not been established. Nina Cook's murder remains an open and unsolved case, leaving her family still searching for justice and answers as to who was responsible for her violent death.
