Brad Cooper reportedly considering plea deal in murder of wife Nancy
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Brad Cooper is reportedly considering a plea deal as he awaits re-trial in the 2008 death of his wife Nancy.
Last September, the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled the trial judge who oversaw Cooper's 2011 conviction should have allowed expert witnesses called by the defense to testify.
That decision was upheld by the NC Supreme Court in January.
Prosecutors say Cooper strangled his wife.
Nancy Cooper, 34, disappeared in Cary on July 12, 2008. Her husband said she went out for a jog and never returned. Her body - clad only in a sports bra - was later found in a drainage ditch at the end of a cul-de-sac at an unfinished subdivision less than three miles from the couple's home.
During his trial, prosecutors said Brad killed Nancy because he was angry she planned to divorce him and move with their two daughters to Canada.
Witnesses testified the couple argued at a party the night before she disappeared and that both had affairs outside their marriage.
Cooper was convicted of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
In his appeal, Cooper's lawyer claimed the trial judge wrongly denied two witnesses who would have testified someone could have remotely tampered with Cooper's computer. Cooper's lawyers also said someone planted a map onto the Canadian native's computer showing where Nancy's body was found.
Prosecutors have declined to comment on any plea deal, but Garry Rentz - Cooper's father-in-law - told ABC11 Monday the possible plea deal would allow Cooper to plead guilty to second-degree murder.
If the judge agrees, he would be sentenced to 13 to 16 years in prison with credit for time served, and would likely be eligible for release in less than 10 years.
His next court date is September 22.
