On a summer day in Gresham, Oregon, a grim discovery brought an end to the lives of a young couple. Anthony Patrick Tony Cooper, a 26-year-old Caucasian male, and his wife, Melinda Beth Kotkins, were found deceased in their townhouse on August 6, 2008. The authorities were alerted by a utility worker who had visited the residence to collect a past-due payment and was met with a foul odor and the sight of flies inside.
Upon entering the home, police found the decomposing bodies of Cooper and Kotkins, both of whom had been shot in the head execution-style.
The investigation into the double homicide soon focused on the couple's involvement in the local drug trade. Neighbors had reported a steady stream of visitors to the home, and Cooper himself had expressed concerns for his safety, choosing to park his car down the street out of fear that people were after him. This led investigators to scrutinize their circle of associates, and a name that quickly surfaced was James Charles Tooley, a man who sold oxycodone for Cooper.
A crucial break in the case came when Tooley's own cousin came forward and informed the police that Tooley had confessed to the murders. This information, combined with surveillance footage and a fingerprint found on a gun case at the crime scene, solidified Tooley as the prime suspect. Investigators believe Tooley's motive was to take over Cooper's drug operation. The prosecution's timeline of events suggested that Tooley went to the couple's home in late July 2008, shooting Kotkins after she let him in. He then picked up Cooper, who had just been released from jail, and brought him back to the townhouse where he also murdered him.
In March 2009, James Charles Tooley was arrested. While incarcerated and awaiting trial, he attempted to orchestrate a murder-for-hire plot from his jail cell. Phone recordings revealed Tooley arranging a payment to have the cousin who had implicated him killed to prevent their testimony. This plot was ultimately thwarted by law enforcement. In 2010, a jury found Tooley guilty of two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, and one count of solicitation to commit aggravated murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
