TYLER, Texas — Family and friends of the victim and a case expert shared their perspectives after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declared Kerry Max Cook innocent in the 1977 murder of Linda Jo Edwards.
“Crimes of this nature were surely not typical in our city nor in the nice apartment complex where she lived. There were rumors and discussions, and most of us had no idea of the credibility of those,” Tyler resident Brenda Cagle said. “When [Cook] was accused and convicted, questions remained but most hoped the crime was solved and justice done.”
Cook, a former Jacksonville resident, spent 20 years on death row for the murder after his fingerprint was found on Edwards’ patio door. However, he always claimed that another man, James Mayfield, who was having an affair with Edwards, was the real culprit.
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