Inset: Destino Jean-Louis (Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office). Background: The Pennsylvania Walmart where Destino Jean-Louis allegedly shot and killed his wife, Latosha Cooper (WCAU/YouTube).
A Pennsylvania man allegedly hid behind a bush outside a Walmart, waited for his wife to finish work, then walked “slowly” toward her and shot her in the parking lot as she spoke with a co-worker, authorities said.
Destino Jean-Louis, 23, is charged with first-degree murder and other offenses in the Oct. 21 killing of Latosha Cooper, 45, outside the Walmart in Cheltenham, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
A criminal complaint and probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime state that surveillance footage showed Jean-Louis, a former Walmart employee, “pacing” and “lying in wait” behind a bush before Cooper left the store with a female co-worker.
“[The co-worker] and the victim walked out to their vehicles together and were standing in the parking lot talking,” the affidavit says. “[The co-worker] said she saw a black male … wearing a blue-gray colored thin hooded sweatshirt with the hood up and a mask that covered his face, walk by her. [The co-worker] said the male slowly walked up toward the victim and shot her.”
The affidavit alleges that Cooper and Jean-Louis were in an intimate relationship, but that their “primary goal was to secure immigration status with the United States for Destino,” according to a friend.
Another Walmart employee told investigators that Cooper married Jean-Louis, a Haitian native, so he could remain in the United States, the affidavit says. The couple reportedly experienced domestic problems, and Jean-Louis acknowledged that he had previously “physically assaulted” Cooper because he believed she had disrespected him.
When the employee challenged that behavior, Jean-Louis allegedly responded that disrespect was not tolerated in his country and said he would assault her again, according to the affidavit.
Employees who worked with Cooper told investigators that Jean-Louis had been calling Walmart staff members, allegedly trying to find out when she was scheduled to work.
Cooper reportedly told co-workers that Jean-Louis was “not willing to do the work” required to support his immigration status. She eventually “cut ties” with him, and the affidavit says he was unhappy about the breakup.
During a police interview, Jean-Louis allegedly described the marriage as “difficult” and said, “She f—ed up my life,” after investigators questioned him about the relationship.
Jean-Louis admitted contacting Walmart employees to ask whether Cooper was working, the affidavit says. He allegedly claimed she owed him money as an excuse for seeking information about her schedule.
The affidavit also states that Jean-Louis told co-workers he was angry because Cooper had stopped answering his calls, which he said was disrupting his immigration process.
Jean-Louis told police that he and Cooper began dating in April 2024. He claimed Cooper had told him, “I could make you get a Green Card,” according to the affidavit.
Investigators say cellphone records placed Jean-Louis near the Walmart when the shooting occurred. When detectives asked him why his phone was there, he allegedly replied, “I don’t know how.”
An autopsy found that Cooper suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The medical examiner classified her death as a homicide, and police said bullets recovered from her body were .22-caliber rounds.
Jean-Louis was arrested on Oct. 23 by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force at a Philadelphia residence following an immigration investigation. During a subsequent search of the home, detectives allegedly recovered a sandwich bag containing 11 rounds of .22-caliber ammunition.
According to the affidavit, Jean-Louis’ cellphone records also showed multiple trips between his Philadelphia home and the Walmart during the weeks before Cooper was killed. He additionally faces third-degree murder and related firearms charges.
The post ‘She f—ed up my life’: Husband hides in bushes at Walmart, walks up ‘slowly’ behind his wife as she leaves and executes her in parking lot, cops say first appeared on Law & Crime.