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Inset: Robert Cooley (Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Dept.). Background: Police at the scene where Cooley killed his wife (WISH).
In a tragic case that has gripped Indiana, a 27-year-old man will spend decades in prison after brutally murdering his wife just five weeks following the birth of their child. The man, Robert Cooley, inflicted a horrific ordeal on his wife, a kindergarten teacher, by beating, slashing, and shooting her inside their home before phoning 911 to confess, “I did something bad.”
Marion County Superior Judge Cynthia L. Oetjen sentenced Cooley to 45 years in a state penitentiary for the murder of 26-year-old Amber Cooley, as per court records examined by Law&Crime. Cooley avoided a trial by striking a plea deal with prosecutors, admitting guilt to one count of murder in his wife’s death.
Judge Oetjen acknowledged Cooley’s time already spent in custody by granting him 614 days of time served, alongside an extra 205 days for good behavior.
Previously reported by Law&Crime, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded to a reported shooting around 7:20 a.m. on June 1, 2024, at a home on the 3000 block of Armory Lane.
Upon arrival, first responders found Amber Cooley in an upstairs bedroom, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Tragically, emergency medical personnel declared her deceased at the scene.
Robert Cooley exited the residence through an opened garage door to greet officers when they reached the home, the Indianapolis Star reported, citing a probable cause affidavit.
“I did something bad,” he allegedly said to the officers. “I need to go to jail.”
As officers were walking him away from his house, body-worn camera footage showed Robert Cooley saying, “I took my wife’s life,” the Star reported.
In a post-Miranda interview with detectives, police say that Robert Cooley admitted to beating and cutting his wife before ultimately shooting her in the head, local CW affiliate WISH reported. Police reportedly noted that Amber Cooley’s throat had been slit and her face was beaten so badly that she was virtually unrecognizable.
Robert Cooley’s brother told police that Robert Cooley used FaceTime to call him Saturday morning. During the call, Robert Cooley said, “I just killed Amber, bro,” WISH reported.
Police said they also found an infant inside of the home. While police did not state the child’s relationship to Robert or Amber Cooley, the victim’s parents told WISH that their daughter had given birth to the couple’s first child about five weeks earlier.
Amber Cooley’s mother said that Robert Cooley had been verbally abusive to her daughter over the course of their five-year relationship.
Additionally, the victim’s parents told WISH that one day before her death, Amber Cooley had asked her mother to get her a petition for dissolution of marriage.
“We think he tried to confront her and she told him something he didn’t want to hear,” Amber Cooley’s father, Corey Cooley, told the station.