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Woman Lured Ex-Husband Outside Before Shooting His New Girlfriend To Death, Says Prosecutor
Chelsea Cook used a message about their kids' cough syrup to trick former spouse Travis Cook into leaving his apartment, allowing her to sneak in and allegedly kill his girlfriend Lisa Williams.
The woman accused of gunning down her ex-husband's new girlfriend as she was making Christmas ornaments with his children apparently lured her former spouse outside the apartment before sneaking inside to kill, a Utah prosecutor said Wednesday.
Chelsea Watrous Cook, a 32-year-old high school health and yoga teacher, has been charged in the death of 26-year-old Lisa Vilate Williams (pictured, left.) Williams was shot to death at the Salt Lake City home of Travis Cook on Nov. 25.
Prosecutors revealed this week that Cook sent her ex a message about dropping off cold medicine for their 3-year-old twins, which lured him outside of the apartment and into a parking lot, according to the Associated Press. She then allegedly snuck into his apartment and locked herself in the bathroom.
When Travis Cook came back into the home and called 911, Chelsea Cook exited the bathroom and allegedly shot Williams multiple times.
Travis Cook told the children to run into their rooms and lock the doors, the Associated Press reports. Meanwhile, he pinned his ex-wife to the wall while waiting for police to arrive on the scene.
Police previously had been called in October after Cook yelled “disparaging comments” about Williams during a fight that happened as Travis Cook tried to pick up their kids, the Associated Press reports. Cook allegedly grabbed him by the hair and he ended up falling down a set of stairs. Williams was not present. Cook pleaded not guilty in connection with that incident.
Williams' family said she had been the victim of bullying and harassment by Cook for months.
"I worried for her safety every day," mother Tawny Williams told the Associated Press, describing how Cook allegedly harassed her daughter both online and in-person.
Bekah Williams told the AP that her sister didn’t want to report Chelsea Cook's alleged bullying to police because she didn’t want to make the situation harder on the children.
"In hindsight, I think the best thing for the kids would have been to call the police every time," Bekah Williams said.
Cook has been charged with aggravated murder in the first degree and is being held on $1 million bond, according to jail records.
[Photo: Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office]
