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September 29, 2010 in City
Suspect in child’s death faces $1 million bond
Angela Gilbert struggles to hold back tears as she stands outside a Hillyard apartment building holding a photo of her sister, Rebecca McCollough and her children, Wednesday Sept. 29, 2010. Police say McCollough’s 1-year-old son Santiago was beaten to death by her boyfriend Tuesday night.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)
A 22-year-old Spokane man already under investigation for abusing a baby girl was arrested late Tuesday after his girlfriend’s 1-year-old son was found beaten to death in their Hillyard apartment.
James R. “J.R.” Cooley, 22, told detectives he squeezed and shook little Santiago McCreight repeatedly because he was frustrated with the child’s crying “and his own lack of having marijuana,” according to a probable cause affidavit prepared by Spokane police.
The affidavit was filed Wednesday to support a first-degree murder charge against Cooley, who was ordered jailed on $1 million bond during his first court appearance.
Police also will recommend assault charges against Cooley for an alleged beating on May 5 that left his then-girlfriend’s 6-month-old daughter blind and mentally disabled, said Officer Jennifer DeRuwe, spokeswoman for the Spokane Police Department.
Police didn’t have probable cause to arrest Cooley in that case until his interview with detectives late Tuesday, DeRuwe said.
Cooley’s girlfriend, Rebecca L. McCollough, called police Wednesday afternoon and said she’d left her children with Cooley at their apartment at 3018 E. Everett. She arrived home to find Santiago blue and not breathing in his crib.
In interviews with police, Cooley initially denied hurting the children but later described shaking Santiago and demonstrated how the child’s head flopped forward and backward, according to the affidavit.
Additional charges are expected in connection with assault on Santiago’s 4-year-old brother, Santana, who told police Cooley hit him in the face.
The boy told police he and his brother were in their bedroom for a nap when Cooley told Santiago to stop crying.
Cooley then punched Santiago repeatedly and slammed Santana’s head on the ground, police said.
Santana told police repeatedly, “My brother is dead,” and said “He got killed by J.R.,” according to the affidavit
Detectives examined the boy’s body in a Sacred Heart trauma room and noted a bite mark on his left shoulder, a partial hand print on his rib cage and possible injuries to his genitals, according to the affidavit.
His cheeks were covered in bruises and his eyes were “severely blackened and swollen,” police wrote.
Police took DNA swabs from the bite mark and used a search warrant to obtain Cooley’s DNA. They also seized bloody towels and clothing from the East Everett apartment.
Spokane police Lt. Dave McGovern said Cooley does not appear to have used a weapon.
“Basically it was a blunt force injury caused by him with his hands,” McGovern said.
McCollough, 25, told police she’d left the children with Cooley at the apartment about 10:30 a.m. as she donated plasma.
She arrived home about 3:50 p.m. and Cooley claimed Santiago and been asleep for two hours and that Santana suffered a bloody lip when he fell from a couch.
He then left, and McCollough noticed extensive bruises on the older boy’s face, said her sister, Angela Gilbert said. She found Santiago badly beaten and bloody.
Medics where unable to revive the baby following the 4:50 p.m. call, and he was declared dead at Sacred Heart Medical Center.
“They said he’d been dead for a couple of hours,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert said Cooley apparently placed Santiago in his bed after beating him to make it look like he was asleep.
McCollough and Cooley were introduced through friends and had been seeing each other for about six months. Cooley is not employed, Gilbert said.
Gilbert said her sister was unaware of Cooley’s history and had no idea he could be violent.
In addition to the previous child abuse investigation, Cooley was charged with second-degree assault in 2008 after his sister said he attacked her.
The charge was dismissed in February 2009 at Cooley’s sister’s request, prosecutors said.
Cooley is on felony probation for a malicious mischief conviction in Port Orchard, Wash. He also has five felony convictions as a juvenile and several misdemeanors.
Prosecutors discussed his criminal history Wednesday when asking for a $1 million bond.
“There is very good reason, based on the history, to be concerned about the community,” said Deputy Prosecutor Ed Hay. “Although the bond is extremely high, it’s also extremely justified.”
Gilbert said her sister had left her child in his care one time, she said.
“I just want to know why, how he could do this to somebody, how he could do this to a baby,” Gilbert said, describing her sister as a “good mom.”
“We just did a birthday for him,” she said. “He was a good baby. He always smiled … He was the light of our lives. To lose him is pretty hard.”
By Wednesday afternoon, a memorial to Santiago was forming outside the aging apartment building where he died.
“Rest in Peace Tum-Tum,” a sign reads. “You will always be in our hearts.”
Staff writer Mike Prager contributed to this report.
Human trafficking suspects released 
misjustice on September 29 at 7:33 a.m.
Lewis, you’re right.
bszottlinger on September 29 at 7:47 a.m.
Let me see if I’ve got this right. This is near the end of September, they were investigating Cooley in May for blinding and causing brain damage to another baby. He now confesses to murdering this little one, what went on in the interim?
It’s become obvious to me that law enforcement in this area doesn’t adhere to the Washington State Bench Bar Press Guidelines which prohibit the release of information regarding confessions.
Elkay on September 29 at 8:13 a.m.
….”Detectives are still investigating a case involving another woman and child in May that left the baby blind and brain-damaged…..”
Why was this monster allowed back on the street after destroying that baby’s life? What kind of laws do we have in this state that overprotect the guilty — and what can we do about it?
I’m beyond incensed!
andjusticeforall on September 29 at 8:16 a.m.
I say lock him in a room with Deputy Brian Hirzel (Creach shooter)
WSP Lee Slemp (shot pregnant woman) & Deputy David Westlake & see what happens…he’ll be shot to death in no time…hopefully
eagleproducer on September 29 at 8:29 a.m.
Mothers: Keep your babies close and for crying out loud don’t leave them with men you barely know.
Elkay on September 29 at 9:08 a.m.
spoketucky,
Oftentimes single mothers have to work, and sadly (naîvely) “trust” their new-found boyfriend to babysit while they’re at work, instead of finding better alternatives (and there are a number of them).
I will get hammered with Privacy Laws or by defense lawyers, but when it affects helpless little ones like this, it might be a thought to post a website for child abusers who have actually been arrested for that crime. If proven innocent, take their name off the list. At least the moms would have a clue about their new ‘friend’.
Innocent Until Proven Guilty didn’t work very well this time. These two cases sicken me beyond words.
bszottlinger on September 29 at 9:29 a.m.
I hope and pray that the investigation between May and September of the first incident was a case that investigators simply were unable to establish probable cause to charge Cooley. This had better not be a situation where the case was sitting in someone’s I’ll get to this stuff later file. Or even worse it had been submitted to the prosecutor for charging but they were so busy they hadn’t had time to get to it.
I’m sure the SR is looking into this, but I hope you SR folks are cautious about what you are told and double check what law enforcement has to say.
Marksman on September 29 at 9:31 a.m.
Maybe, just maybe, if people spent one quarter of the time being dedicated to animal welfare; being concerned about the safety of people in their neighborhoods, maybe babies would stop being murdered in Spokane.
cpd805 on September 29 at 9:39 a.m.
Brad,
I know the SPD has a Child Abuse Unit for these cases. and I can GUARANTEE they did not just sluff off a child abuse where the creep shook the baby until blind. Either they did not have PC or he was booked, charged and released pending trial. Not sure which.
The spokesman having to double check info from law enforcement goes both ways. I have personally been misquoted in the SR, so accuracy in reporting is not always the case with the SR.
(Sorry editors, but that is my prior experience)
zelda on September 29 at 10:02 a.m.
Non-biological fathers beating or killing the babies of their girlfriends is a never-ending story in this town. That’s what makes all those “great place to raise a family” promos so hard to stomach. Let’s not forget a key ingredient in the mix — abject poverty.
MrNatural on September 29 at 10:06 a.m.
How can people argue we aren’t descendants from primates (heavy on the descendants). This heinous crime happens all too often and whatever we are doing as a society to curb it is not working
Loudin on September 29 at 10:11 a.m.
I moved to Spokane about four years ago from the greater-Baltimore area. Having lived there, I didn’t think there was anyplace in the United States that could rival the problems of that city.
That said, the first major news stories I remember upon getting to Spokane was the Otto Zehm tragedy & the child abuse death of the little girl at the Dresden Apartments. Unfortunately, rather than those things being uniquely sad actions, they’ve been superseded by similar events. I don’t want to steer this into a flame war about local law enforcement and threat response; I only mentioned it because it (Zehm) & the Dresden case were the major stories of that period (‘06-7). So to the real point: What is the deal with young men in this community beating kids to death? Is it socio-economics? A corresponding lack of education? Dead-beat fathers? The “douchebag” culture of what seems to be a fair number of sub-30 year old men in Spokane? What is it?
Anyway, that sucks. It sucks that this guy was able to do this once, it sucks that he killed a child doing it twice, it sucks that appropriated agencies in this city didn’t prevent this, it sucks that our tax dollars obviously didn’t get spent correctly and it sucks most of all for that little child. Too much of this garbage is going on in a city of this relatively small stature. Wow.
Loudin
MrNatural on September 29 at 10:35 a.m.
Hey Loudin!
Not to get off topic but I grew up in the Woodlawn-Catonsville area…been here since 76
and I agree with you to some extent…per capita Spokane appears to have more sicko’s…but then again that’s a phenomenon with small cities…everybody knows what everybody is up to especially the bad stuff.
bszottlinger on September 29 at 11:10 a.m.
Cpd805:
Law Enforcement, includes but is not limited to, the prosecutorial aspect. If your folks submitted a affidavit and it wasn’t acted upon, or this was another 72 hour release without formal charging, I along with a lot of other citizens are going to be hot. If it was a case of a lack of PC that’s another situation all together. The media I am sure will be looking into this so I’m sure everyone on your side will be preparing.
I take issue with the release of the confession information because it does violate Bench Bar Press Guildines. I understand that they are simply “Guidelines” however, the release of a confession makes it a lot easier for the defense to request and receive a costly venue change because it taints the jury pool.
JayNW on September 29 at 11:19 a.m.
In regard to the 1st baby beating this guy was accused of, I recall that he was never charged b/c the cops/prosecutors didn’t have enough probable cause. There were several other adults at the home when it happened, and they were not cooperative with the cops, and wouldn’t tell them what really happened.
As far as the mother goes- its pretty telling that she has a baby with one guy then 6 months after giving birth has a new boyfriend- and at some point within 6 months that new boyfriend is living at her home. Maybe if people starting using some moral sense when making decisions, less babies would be killed.
zelda on September 29 at 11:52 a.m.
Loudin — This is a blue-collar town and the blue-collar jobs have been going away since the mid-80s. The hostile takeover of Kaiser Aluminum, the lock-out, the bankruptcy and job loss hit this area hard and for many people those smelter and rolling mill jobs were almost a birthright. Similar story all across Rust Belt towns in the Midwest and cities such as Rochester, Buffalo, Utica, etc. The “good jobs” — General Dynamics, Agilent, Spray Cool, Triumph Composite Systems, Telect — are either vastly diminished or gone forever with little to fill the void.
And so, instead of digging in and recognizing the reality, Spokane is mired in resentment-against-achievement syndrome. They resent people who got a good education and they resent people who have figured out what it takes to get ahead. With the collapse of the building sector jobs which actually were an incentive for kids to not finish high school because they could go to work right away framing houses, we’ve got a high school drop-out rate that’s even worse than before. Kids and parents rationalize by saying it’s “street smarts” that matter, not formal education. Add to that the fact that they can’t discern the difference between a master’s degree from Stanford and a master’s degree from the University of Phoenix if they do decide to get “an education.”
And then there’s the factor of connections. You have to have good connections to find a decent job in this town and many young men drifting through life don’t have a support system of family and friends to arrange something for them.
It’s a downward spiral and, quite honestly, the Great Recession has compounded the dismal lack of opportunities for young people in Spokane. The bulk of the jobs here are minimum wage service employment (pizza restaurants). The kids who have their act together leave. Thus, we’re stuck with an overpopulation of young feral males.
westerly on September 29 at 12:16 p.m.
So this killer already blinded a child for life..and he is still on the loose untill he killed this baby. So, Spokane Superior court judges and prosecutors….you failed your jobs we pay you to protect us. Many cases of baby killings in Spokane..what is it? The water? Poor, poverty masses of people here in Spokane? Is it that depressing to live there? Look at the stats..45 to 50 percent of Rogers seniors dont graduate from HS. What do they do? Hang out with other scum, gangs, their parents are just as bad. Hey, wished the military draft was still on, like the ‘60’s…these punks would be in a war and grow up to be a man.
SarahF on September 29 at 12:21 p.m.
Same thing happens all over. Happened earlier this week in Dallas, actually. Don’t blame it on the area, blame it on the mindset.
If they don’t work, if they aren’t the baby’s daddy, and they can’t stand crying, then *never* leave your children with them.
This sort of thing makes me feel sick. Poor kid.
bszottlinger on September 29 at 12:26 p.m.
JayNW:
Where did you get this information?
“In regard to the 1st baby beating this guy was accused of, I recall that he was never charged b/c the cops/prosecutors didn’t have enough probable cause. There were several other adults at the home when it happened, and they were not cooperative with the cops, and wouldn’t tell them what really happened.”
I can’t find it anywhere.
Diana on September 29 at 12:28 p.m.
“Hey, wished the military draft was still on, like the ‘60’s…these punks would be in a war and grow up to be a man”.
Is war and killing what it takes to become a man? Is that what it takes for the male of the species to learn to be kind, gentle and nurturing to children?
Ed Byrnes on September 29 at 12:45 p.m.
This may surprise many of you coming from me but here goes.
Lighten up on the police and prosecutor until we know what role child welfare agencies have had in this guys previous cases. By child welfare I am including the Childrens Administration of DSHS, the Guardians Ad Litem and the CASAs (court appointed special advocates). It wouldn’t hurt to really dig into the judiciary on this one as well.
My guess, based on experience, is that it took more than one agency dropping the ball to get things to this point.
spoketucky offers very sage advice to all single parents. As a single father I am super picky about who even gets to meet my sons much less be unsupervised with them.
zelda on September 29 at 2:00 p.m.
A few years ago the S-R did an excellent analysis of the ramifications of having so many prisons in this area. The upshot of it is that these prisoners, having few to no skills or resources upon release, stay in the area because Spokane has an abundant supply to minimum-wage jobs — the only employment they qualify for or that will hire them.
It’s a vicious circle — literally.
ambworth on September 29 at 3:15 p.m.
So why was this man not in prison for the beating of the other child? Were was that child’s justice. And now this family has to live with the death of this child. It is sick that this man was able to be out and able to get his hands on another innocent child. My Heart and prayers to these families and there children.
Now give these families and children justice and never let this man walk the streets again.
SpokaneLiberal on September 29 at 3:45 p.m.
i am with amborth
This guy should have been in prison. Why did the “investigation” into the May incident take 4+ months while he was allowed to be free? I want answers on that one.
SpokaneLiberal on September 29 at 3:52 p.m.
Also I have been searching all over for more about the assault in May. Why can’t I find any records of it on the Spokesman or anywhere else?
Pat O'Leary on September 29 at 6:21 p.m.
Where the hell is our worthless prosecutor in all this? Beat a baby until it is brain-dead and this dirttbag is walking the streets? Is Tucker in charge of the prosecutors office or too busy playing golf? Thank God we have an election coming.
misjustice on September 29 at 6:35 p.m.
This guy has a fairly lengthy record, given his age.
“Cooley is not only familiar to law enforcement, he also has a history with State Child Protective Services. His long criminal history includes drugs, stolen cars and child rape dating back to the mid 1990’s. Most of his record involves drug possession and stolen cars. He pleaded guilty to 4th Degree Assault in 2005. Prosecutors say Cooley had underage sex with a 13-year-old girl in his house.”
“Just two years ago, Cooley was charged with 2nd Degree Assault. The victim was his sister. She said he was high on cocaine when he attacked her in the family home, throwing her to the floor, choking her and threatening to stab her. The charges were dismissed.”
“Cooley’s mother and father also have a criminal past, including evictions, domestic violence and drugs.”
http://www.krem.com/news/Cooleys-bond-set-at-1000000-for-babys-murder-104039703.html
Some of his court interactions are on the courts.wa site. His middle name is Roosevelt.
http://dw.courts.wa.gov/
misjustice on September 29 at 6:37 p.m.
Spokane Liberal; I’ve had the same difficulties. The date was May 5, 2010 and the address was 2700 West 4th, even with that I’m coming up with nothing. Why?
zelda on September 29 at 7:56 p.m.
Whenever an incident of this sort occurs, the TV stations automatically schedule an interview w/somebody at the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery. That’s all well and good, but the advice coming from the staff for the most part falls on deaf ears. It assumes that the mothers most at risk have good judgement, solid reasoning skills and are good judges of character. In other words they have the emotional intelligence to anticipate that something bad might happen and take steps to prevent it.
What we’ve learned from various media is that the biological father of the two boys is apparently not a factor (absent or dead?), she was running errands that included “donating” plasma, she and her boyfriend were living in an economically depressed part of town and using what for income?
This is not to say that all women in such circumstances don’t have common sense and I am absolutely not excusing the boyfriend, but there is a big chunk of sociological context missing when many child abuse stories are covered.
meghannc on September 29 at 8:04 p.m.
Assault charges have not technically been filed for the May case but they will be this week. The case had not yet been handed to the prosecutor’s office - police say they didn’t have probable cause to arrest Cooley until after his interview with defectives about Santiago’s death. Jennifer DeRuwe said there were lots of other people at the home when police arrived to investigate, and that because the beating had occurred hours earlier, detectives had trouble establishing PC. Cooley apparently made some incriminating statements during his interview last night.
Marie on September 29 at 8:58 p.m.
I am going to throw this out for discussion… A “good mother” does not permit a man to move in with her and take care of her children until she is very sure of his character. After reading the information that misjustice has posted I would be very surprised if this man hadn’t abused the mother as well. While I feel sorry for domestic violence victims every bit of that sympathy disappears when a child is put at risk. As a mother it is your duty to put the safety of your child above your desire to have a man in your life. This child was totally dependent on his mother for his safety and her bad decisions cost her child his life.
Diana on September 29 at 9:06 p.m.
So where was the father?
kaywrightmcg2003 on September 29 at 9:45 p.m.
The police and prosecutors need to do thier jobs here and we will no doubt get mor infomation on this monster, but in the mean time leave this poor grieving mother alone ~ how dare any of you judge her, she is a working mother and we have no idea who the father is, if he was ever in the picture, and to say or even infer she was to blame is just wrong and pathetic of you to even suggest that ~ from all the pics of these beautiful children, they look to be happy, healthy and well taken care of.. monsters like this do not show their true colors.. How many parents have hired baby sitters that they have not know for 6 months, less a few weeks. God bless this family who are going thru hell.
bszottlinger on September 29 at 9:49 p.m.
Ms. Cuniff:
I’m sorry but that explanation doesn’t make a lot of since to me. The fact that the injuries were sustained several hours prior to arrival of the police would not necessarily eliminate the ability to establish probable cause, as traumatic injuries to very small children are often not apparent until several hours and in some cases days after the trauma was inflicted. I understand that there may have been some difficulty establishing who had contact with the child, during what time frames, but a simple statement that there were a lot of people present doesn’t cut it , at least for me. At some point I guess we might be able to see the actual police report and maybe that will fill in some blanks.
BTW, I am assuming this was a typo, rather than a Freudian slip?
“defectives”
Brad
meghannc on September 29 at 10:46 p.m.
Yes, Brad, that was a typo. Just another sign I probably shouldn’t be wading into the comments section after a day like this.
zelda on September 29 at 11:02 p.m.
Curt — That’s part of the problem, i.e., “Don’t you judge me!”
I would call it assessing the situation. The blameless mother, utterly innocent child and monster boyfriend scenario is simplistic and doesn’t fully explain twhat occurred. I’m not painting the mother as an accessory to the crime. It’s more like trying to really understand how these crimes keep happening over and over.
Camillel82 on September 29 at 11:44 p.m.
From one single mother of two boys who are the same ages…..my god be with you and your sons. I hope he rests in peace and the older child can somehow get over seeing whatever terrible things he saw. I cannot express the pain that I have come over me just reading this article. God please bring this family peace. Please deliver justice as you see fit.
Erik_T on September 30 at 1:29 a.m.
The draft; Yes Diana, unfortunately it is what it takes most of the time (to get young men to grow into adulthood (productive adults)). More so the act of self control and self realisation that goes on and is developed quickly when inducted as a young man.
I was the first male running start student in the state; graduated high school with nearly 2 years of college credits; I joined the Marine Corps at 17 as I knew it was the right thing for me to do for myself. I could have went to several large universities, however I knew I would need the direction and “growing up” that the military indoctinated. I did go back to school after my service, I am now a proud father, and successful businessman here in Spokane. I could not agree more with westerly’s comment about the non-existance of the draft.
Now back on the subject; 5 felony convictions as a minor?????
I will be extremely angered if a judge sentences him to lesser than life without parole.
bszottlinger on September 30 at 8:12 a.m.
Ms. Cuniff:
There are a couple of things I for one would like to know.
There must have been involvement by Children’s Services in the first abuse case. Was there a court order or agreement prohibiting the mother from allowing Cooley to have contact with that child? If so, what was the basis for not allowing the contact?
Was Children’s Services in any way involved with Rebecca McCollough and her children? If so, were they aware of the Cooley/McCollough relationship? If not, why not? If so, why would they not prohibit Cooley’s contact with her children?
Brad
bszottlinger on September 30 at 8:59 a.m.
One thing that bothers me about this case is media reports that witnesses in the first abuse case were uncooperative. In such severe cases of child abuse where you have uncooperative witnesses there is a tool in Washington State for law enforcement that is apparently under utilized where testimony could be obtained from uncooperative witnesses. The utilization of an “Inquiry Judge Proceeding” in severe cases would allow law enforcement to obtain testimony from uncooperative or reluctant witnesses.
This of course this would require coordination and planning between The Court, The Prosecutor, and Law Enforcement Agencies tasked with investigating Child Abuse Cases. Perhaps local authorities feel using an Inquiry Judge Proceeding, or Grand Jury is too cumbersome, or because they aren’t utilized often they are unfamiliar with the investigative benefits. When it comes to protecting our children my expectation of law enforcement is that they will use every tool available to them and I’m sure that I am not alone in that regard.
Brad Szottlinger
jtaylor on October 03 at 8:23 p.m.
What kind of a worthless scum would beat a baby to death? I’ll tell you. Scumbag trash that don’t work, lay around doing dope, stealing, raping, and getting help from honest citizens who stupidly give them welfare. Then add to that some stupid whore who has the baby in the first place, not married, and willing to sleep with anyone who will put the wood to her and give her dope. Sounds like a real combo to me. Poor baby never had a chance, anyway you look at it. When is society going to wise up and quit supporting these slugs? When is someone going to have the courage to just kill scum like this bastard and start cleaning the gene pool?
decturkey on October 05 at 3:38 p.m.
Amen Jtaylor!!!