FAMILY AT A LOSS TO EXPLAIN DEADLY OUTBURST

'the Person I Loved Could Never Have Done That'

The photo is stunning in its warmth.

Standing with arms around each other, Joseph Cook and Richard Skipper look
like buddies enjoying the Christmas cheer.

Less than a month later, Mr. Cook apparently murdered the 20-year-old and
Jennifer Schooler, 19, as the couple lay in bed in the home they all
shared. Then, with guns firing, he led police on a 25-mile, crash-filled
chase that ended in Mr. Cook's suicide.

What happened on Jan. 20 is still beyond comprehension to Laurie Skipper,
41, Mr. Cook's longtime girlfriend and Mr. Skipper's mother.

That day she was in the hospital recovering from radical surgery that
included a full hysterectomy. Her first clue that something was wrong was a
call wondering why Mr. Cook was not at work.

"The person I loved could not have done that," she said. "He had to have
been totally out of his mind."

He may have been. Deputies found evidence of cocaine use. And several notes
apparently written by Mr. Cook, 30, blame drugs for the outbreak, said
Juanita Skipper, Richard's stepmother, relaying information she learned
from detectives.

Her boyfriend had done coke in the past, but not in years, Laurie Skipper said.

A toxicology report is pending, Pender County Sheriff Carson Smith said.

Nothing will bring back the dead, but drugs would at least be an
explanation for what went wrong in a seemingly normal night. When Beth
Marks stopped by that day, Mr. Cook offered to make dinner. Her brother
Richard Skipper was out washing his car, Ms. Marks said.

Later Laurie Skipper called from the hospital, finding things as they ever
were, she said. She gave her son a hard time for not visiting, and then Mr.
Cook told her to call if she needed anything.

Even some family members who didn't care for Mr. Cook said they didn't
count such violence among his faults.

"He wasn't my favorite person," said Lex Skipper, Richard's father and
Laurie Skipper's ex-husband, but he said that if he had even a hint that
this was within Mr. Cook's potential, he would have been over there in a
second.

Like his ex-wife, Lex Skipper feels compelled by religion to forgive, but
it's a challenge, he said. He declined to discuss his reasons for disliking
the man, out of respect for Mr. Cook's family.

He knows Mr. Cook's family, especially his parents, is suffering as much as
anybody, he said.

"They have a grief no one else knows," he said.

Mr. Cook had convictions for taking indecent liberties with a child and a
breaking and entering charge - both about 10 years old.

Talking about his son, Lex Skipper switched from smiling recollections of a
rambunctious kid, whose cocky strut made him a favorite target for family
teasing, to tearful moments of loss.

As a young video-game addict, Richard crammed so many loads in the washing
machine, trying to free time for his games that he destroyed a brand new
washer, his father said, laughing.

His son had made mistakes, spending time in jail for driving violations, he
said. But his girlfriend was turning him around, he said.

Ms. Schooler was so beautiful, Juanita Skipper sometimes wondered how her
skinny stepson ended up with such a stunner, she said.

"She was a knockout," she said.

Juanita Skipper, who lost a nephew in a car crash the day before the
killings, said she was numb.

"I'm fixing to break," she said.

Laurie Skipper is relying on her faith to keep her strong.

The one consolation she said she finds in the whole thing is that one
didn't survive the other's death. Believing the couple is in heaven
together brings a small peace of mind, she said.