Still no verdict in Cook murder trial

RALEIGH Prosecutors say Raymond Cook was drunk and driving at more than 80 miles per hour in a 45 zone when he plowed into the back of 20-year-old Elena Shapiro's car on Strickland Road September 11, 2009.

On Friday afternoon, the judge dismissed the jury after it did not reach a decision.

They began deliberations after closing arguments. The prosecution made its closing argument first. In his closing, lead prosecutor Jeff Cruden told jurors that Cook's alleged crime is all the more heinous because of his choice of a career.

Cruden went back through evidence that shows Cook began drinking earlier in the day while playing golf at the Raleigh Country Club. He later left and went to Piper's Tavern where a manager refused to serve him another drink after noticing he was intoxicated. A witness said she saw Cook and a woman in the parking lot of Piper's and asked if he had a ride.

But prosecutors say Cook got behind the wheel anyway. After leaving Piper's, witnesses testified that Cook was travelling at high speed in his black Mercedes down Strickland Road before he ran a red light at Lead Mine Road. Shapiro had just made a right turn from Lead Mine on to Strickland when Cook hit her from behind. The force of the crash crushed Shapiro's car.

A Mercedes mechanic testified that the computer in Cook's car showed it was moving at 88 miles per hour at impact.

In his closing, Cruden detailed all the drinks witnesses said Cook consumed between the time he arrived at the country club around midday and the crash around 8:30 p.m. He allegedly consumed beer on the golf course and then multiple mixed drinks when he got back to the clubhouse.

Cook's defense team has not denied he was intoxicated or speeding, but his lawyers say he did not act with malice - a key argument the prosecution must prove to win a second-degree murder conviction.

Smith also talked about how Cook got out of his car and performed CPR on Shapiro after the crash - saying it showed he acted without malice.

Smith asked jurors not to let their emotions effect their judgment.

Jurors have three charges to consider: second-degree murder, felony death by motor vehicle, and driving while impaired.





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