LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Tenn. — Beaten, bruised and swollen. Angela Carver says though the scars have healed, Charles Cook was once her boyfriend and left her just as black and blue as his latest girlfriend, Melissa Terrell.
“He’s going to kill somebody,” said Carver.
The two survivors share similar stories, Carver says when she tried to break up with Cook last April he snapped and forced her to a secluded farm where he tortured her for 4 days.
“He held me underwater until I blacked out and bashed me in the head with a rock,” recalls Carver.
Two more victims have stepped forward saying they were also attacked by accused serial abuser, Charles Cook. Cook is currently facing attempted first degree murder charges.
He is accused of kidnapping his latest girlfriend Melissa Terrell and torturing her for two weeks.
Now the women who have survived the horrible experience say there’s a pattern, and they are now standing together and fighting back in hopes of keeping Cook behind bars.
She says, just like Terrell, she found a moment to finally escape and get help. But just days after Carver got away, another woman claims she became the next victim.
“He stabbed me many times with a screw driver, pulled a knife on me and cut my side.”
WREG is hiding her identity because she still lives in constant fear of Cook.
“This man is trying to kill you and he’s laughing at you being hurt,” said the unidentified victim.
Her ordeal went on for two days before she escaped both women went to police around the same time.
“You are either fighting to live or you are fighting to get away,” recalls the woman.
Cook is facing a domestic assault misdemeanor charge for Carver’s claims but WREG’s unidentified victim says even though Cook forced her into the car against her will tried to hit her with her car, stabbed her, and broke her nose somehow charges of aggravated assault and kidnapping were dismissed in Dyer County Courts.
“All domestic Violence cases will be prosecuted to the full extent –we want to protect victims,” said Dyer County district attorney Danny Goodman Jr.
Goodman Jr. says they are trying. WREG pulled reports dating all the way back to 2005 when claims of Cooks violent behavior began, reports naming a new victim each time. Time and time again it appears Cook got a low bond or was ordered to take anger management but always seemed to be back on the streets in no time.
“Makes you feel like you imagined what happened but you know you didn’t it’s a lot of victim shaming.”
Attorney Brenda DeRouen of DeRouen & Associates says dismissed charges doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
“If the prosecutor doesn’t feel there is enough evidence to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt he/she may opt to drop the charges rather than pursue the case and waste taxpayer dollars.
WREG asked Goodman about Cooks current pending case involving Carver.
“We have a conflict and we are not apart of this case at this point,” said Goodman Jr.
No one could tell WREG what the conflict of interest was, but we are told District Attorney Garry Brown would be handling it.
As he prepares for Carver’s case, fresh charges of attempted first-degree murder and rape have been added to the list with those aggravated kidnapping and assault charges Cook was already facing in Lauderdale County in connection to the latest victim.
“We are just hoping we can finally get this closed and not have to fear him ever hurting anyone else, because you are always living in that fear waiting on the next victim to come forward,” Carver said.
Both Carver and the other survivor were able to get their order of protection extended for a year.
They say even when Cook is in jail he still manages to reach out to them. He’s currently in jail on a $350,000 bond. He is expected to be in court of February 12th in Dyer County for Carver’s case and February 22nd for Terrell’s case in Lauderdale County.
